Louvre museum closes galleries displaying antiquities as precautionary measure
The terrible, bad, very bad autumn at the Louvre continues. On Monday, the museum announced it was temporarily closing some offices and a public gallery after a recent audit found structural defects in some of the building’s beams.
The museum said in a statement that a technical report submitted last week found that “certain beams supporting the floor” on the second floor of the Louvre’s South Sully Wing were “particularly vulnerable” due to “recent and unforeseen developments.” Experts are currently assessing the damage.
The affected area included offices housing 65 employees; they have since been relocated while work is ongoing. As a precaution, the Louvre also closed the Campana Gallery below its offices, which exhibits ancient Greek ceramics. Associated Press the report said.
Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully, was chief minister to King Henry IV (reigned 1589-1610) and this wing is one of the oldest parts of the museum. It is directly connected to the atrium, where some remains of the medieval Louvre castle remain. The wing is one of the areas planned for renovation under plans to revamp the Louvre announced by French President Emmanuel Macron in January.
Just a month before the gallery closed, France’s crown jewels worth an estimated $102 million were stolen from the Louvre. Amid public outrage over the security failure, the museum and the French government have been working to assess the museum’s integrity and security to determine how the theft occurred and how to prevent similar incidents in the future. Last week’s audit follows a scathing report released earlier this month that detailed how museum leadership prioritized high-profile acquisitions over security upgrades.
