NewsMuseums
Louvre and French museums close, while German museums await clarity in second coronavirus lockdown
Closing German museums would be “a hard blow for the institutions and society,” the country's museums association says
NewsArt crime
Man tries to take artefact from Louvre—just two weeks after being charged for the same crime at Quai Branly
Congolese activist Emery Mwazulu Diyabanza, fined €1,000 earlier this month, will go to court again later today
InterviewMusée du Louvre
'I am not too worried by crowd problems': Louvre director predicts visitor numbers will drop by 80%
Jean-Luc Martinez believes that capitalising on the museum's permanent collection will be key to recovery
NewsMuseums
French museums reveal plans to re-open in June and July
Louvre is "is working towards a planned reopening on 6 July" with strict rules for social distancing and 70% of the museum open to the public
BlogInsta’ gratification
An Instagram masterclass from the man behind the Louvre’s eight million social media followers
We caught up with the Paris institution's head of digital communications, Niko Melissano, to get his advice on creating a mega-museum Instagram presence
NewsSalvator Mundi
How the Louvre concealed its secret Salvator Mundi book
Publication with new scientific analysis of the picture was withdrawn after the Saudi authorities refused to loan Leonardo’s $450m painting to Paris
AnalysisArt's Most Popular 2020
Art's Most Popular: here are 2019's most visited shows and museums
Ai Weiwei was a hit in Brazil, records were broken in London and Paris—but is this the final year of museum visitor growth?
FeatureCoronavirus resources
Artful resources to keep kids entertained and educated at home
Organisations and museums offer plenty of online art projects for parents
FeatureDigital Age
Top online museum and art tours to enjoy from home
Here are the best digital initiatives to feed your need for art
Newscoronavirus
Louvre reopens after closing because of coronavirus
The Paris museum held talks with union officials yesterday
Newscoronavirus
Coronavirus: Louvre closes while Italian museums reopen following government green light
Italian officials say cultural institutions can open to the public so long as they ensure “visitors respect a distance of at least a metre between each other”
NewsVisitor Figures
Louvre's Leonardo da Vinci show smashes attendance record with more than one million visitors
Previous highest figure was 540,000 people for the Eugène Delacroix show in 2018
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Louvre to open non-stop over closing weekend of Leonardo blockbuster show
Free entry—plus coffee and madeleines—promised for nocturnal visitors in a move that will allow an extra 30,000 people to see the exhibition
NewsAppointments
Nazi loot expert joins Louvre to investigate its wartime acquisitions
Hire of French art historian Emmanuelle Polack suggests a more proactive stance on Nazi-era provenance research at Paris museum
FeatureVideo, film & new media
Reality check: is VR set to revolutionise museums?
With the Louvre revealing its virtual reality Mona Lisa, museums ponder the power of tech experiences
NewsThe Year in Review 2019
From the MoMA expansion to ‘artwashing’ ill-gotten wealth: the major museum moments of 2019
We look back at the biggest stories of the year
NewsMuseums
Strikes hit France: here are the museums that are affected
Several institutions have closed, others have cut back their opening times as protests against Macron's retirement reforms sweep the country
NewsArt theft
Rembrandt paintings targeted by thieves at Dulwich Picture Gallery belonged to Louvre and National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC
Attempted robbery was thwarted by police
ReviewExhibitions
The Big Review: Leonardo at the Louvre
This once in a lifetime retrospective has a freshness and coherence which appeals to public and scholar alike
AnalysisSalvator Mundi
Is the $450m Salvator Mundi really on a Saudi yacht?
The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia’s luxury vessel has unexpectedly circumnavigated Europe and docked in the Netherlands
Podcast
Leonardo at the Louvre: the spectacular show and the Salvator Mundi no-show
We speak to co-curator Vincent Delieuvin about the 13 years of research that went into the show and discuss the latest twist in the Salvator Mundi saga with author Ben Lewis. Produced in association with Bonhams, auctioneers since 1793
NewsSalvator Mundi
Revealed: the plans to show Salvator Mundi at the Louvre
Exclusive photograph from the Paris museum shows the intended installation set up
NewsSalvator Mundi
Salvator Mundi nearly made it to the Louvre exhibition, and might still be included
We can also reveal that the $450m painting is described in the latest insurance documents as “attributed to” Leonardo rather than as a definitive autograph work
ReviewLeonardo da Vinci
Leonardo review: Salvator Mundi hovers in the wings, but Louvre show is still magnificent without it
With a mass of the artist’s greatest works on its walls, the exhibition is a huge hit despite the non-appearance—so far—of the controversial painting
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Green light for Leonardo's Vitruvian Man to go to Louvre
An Italian appellate court has overturned the ban on the loan of the celebrated drawing
NewsExhibitions
Louvre Leonardo show: forget Salvator Mundi, focus on Vasari
Forthcoming exhibition on the Renaissance master reveals ground-breaking new research on Italian literary sources
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Italian court blocks loan of Leonardo's Vitruvian Man to Louvre
The ruling also suspends the wider agreement for the exchange of works of art between France and Italy
NewsMusée du Louvre
Louvre defends planned switch to timed-entry tickets after Mona Lisa 'pandemonium'
Reservations will become mandatory at the world's most visited museum by the end of the year
NewsMusée du Louvre
Louvre director plots great collections reshuffle
Jean-Luc Martinez reveals his big plans for the museum and why 250,000 objects must leave Paris
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Salvator Mundi set to be a no-show in Louvre show
Paris museum's attempts to secure $450m Leonardo look doomed to failure, and the loser will be art history
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
If Leonardo’s Vitruvian Man goes on show at the Louvre, we won’t see it again for a decade
Italian conservationists say they may attempt to block the loan of the famous drawing
NewsExhibitions
Despite Brexit, Britain is biggest lender to Louvre’s Leonardo blockbuster show
Speculation remains over whether Salvator Mundi will appear
NewsCultural exchange
Louvre secures key Italian loans for Leonardo retrospective
The Vitruvian Man—normally only shown for a few weeks every six years—will travel from Venice’s Gallerie dell'Accademia to Paris
NewsMusée du Louvre
Bad bedfellows? French politician blasts Louvre over partnership with Airbnb
Paris deputy mayor Ian Brossat says that teaming up with the online rental giant is “disastrous and shocking”
NewsMusée du Louvre
Louvre to train refugees as tour guides with funds from Saudi foundation
Supported by undisclosed donation from Alwaleed Philanthropies, French museum’s newly renovated Islamic galleries reopened this week
PreviewLeonardo da Vinci
Leonardo at the Louvre: an exclusive first look at this year's biggest blockbuster
We reveal the research and science behind the monograph exhibition exploring the Renaissance painter's artistic evolution
NewsLoans
Greece in talks with Louvre to borrow Parthenon frieze as part of 'temporary exchange'
Move reignites debate over British Museum’s position on sculptures brought to Britain by Lord Elgin
ArchiveMusée du Louvre
Louvre curators condemn “collections for rent” schemes ahead of plans to open a branch of the Paris museum in Abu Dhabi
Deal “is about petrodollars and military relations”, says senior member of museum staff
ArchiveMuseums & Heritage
A missing chapter in the history of the decorative arts: the Restoration and July Monarchy
Louvre-organised show at the Grand Palais of neglected period of production
NewsSackler family
Musée du Louvre removes all mention of Sackler name from its galleries following protests
Activist group Pain says Paris museum has taped over or taken down plaques dedicated to the eponymous family whose pharmaceutical company is accused of fuelling the US opioid crisis
NewsChâteau de Versailles
Château de Versailles buys back €4m royal commode that left France after Louvre missed its royal mark
The piece of furniture by Bernard II van Risenburgh, which left for the US almost four decades ago, was commissioned by Louis XV for his stepdaughter
NewsMusée du Louvre
Nan Goldin’s activist group storms the Musée du Louvre
Pain protestors demand that museum officials rename 12 rooms named after the Sackler family
NewsMona Lisa
The Mona Lisa is on the move this summer at the Musée du Louvre
The Leonardo painting, which is seen by thousands of visitors each day, is temporarily leaving its home during renovations to the gallery
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Mona Lisa like you've never seen her: Louvre to use VR for first time in Leonardo fifth centenary show
Museum officials say they still hope to include Salvator Mundi in major autumn show
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Former Louvre director donates his collection to forthcoming museum devoted to the 'Sun King'
Pierre Rosenberg has pledged his collection of works by Charles Le Brun and other artists to the new museum
News
Louvre is 'suffocating' with high volume of visitors, striking workers say
Paris museum closed its doors after union officials protest about angry public and poor security measures
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Louvre struggles to gain loans for Leonardo show
High-level diplomacy is being used to secure the artist’s most important works for blockbuster anniversary show in Paris
NewsObituaries
The Modernist architect I.M. Pei has died, aged 102
The Chinese-American designer created some of the world’s most striking museum projects, including the Louvre’s glass pyramid entrance and the National Gallery of Art’s East Building
NewsExhibitions
Crowd control: Louvre to enforce timed tickets in run-up to Leonardo da Vinci blockbuster
Reservations will mainly be online as French museum anticipates record visitor figures
BlogIn the frame
Go to bed with a smile—spend the night with Mona Lisa
AnalysisMusée du Louvre
Thirty years on, Louvre's pyramid scheme pays off
I.M. Pei’s controversial entrance symbolises the Parisian museum’s spectacular growth
AnalysisArt's Most Popular 2019
Art's Most Popular: here are 2018's most visited shows and museums
Fashion continues upward trend in the US, shooting to the top of The Art Newspaper's chart, while the British Museum slips from the top spot in the UK
NewsCaravaggio
Attic to auction: a timeline of the 'Lost Caravaggio'
The painting, thought to be the second version of the Baroque artist’s Judith Beheading Holofernes will be auctioned this June with an estimate of £86m-£129m
NewsSalvator Mundi
'We want Salvator Mundi' for Leonardo blockbuster, Louvre says
Claims that it had "cancelled plans" to show the work are "fake information", the museum says
NewsAncient Egypt
British Museum teams up with Louvre for revamp of Egyptian Museum in Cairo
But the disputed treasure, the Rosetta Stone, will remain in London
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
Italy blocks Leonardo loans for Louvre anniversary show
Populist government says sending paintings to French museum would put Italy 'on the margins of a great cultural event'
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Delacroix and Beyoncé bring record-breaking Louvre visitor figures
After attendance dips, 10.2 million people flocked to the Paris museum last year
PreviewThe Year Ahead 2019
Which exhibitions will be the blockbusters of 2019?
Major Leonardo and Rembrandt anniversaries mean a wealth of shows focusing on the Old Masters, but Tintoretto, the Bauhaus or Bill Viola could be dark horses
News
Non to tourists: free Saturdays at the Louvre cater to locals
Officials at the Paris museum want to boost homegrown audiences and draw lower-income visitors
PreviewCollecting
Giampietro Campana assembled the greatest private collection of his age—then lost the lot
A new show at the Musée du Louvre reunites 500 of the collector's artefacts, showing his admiration for Italian art across the ages
ReviewExhibitions
Louvre’s Delacroix exhibition uncovers France’s superstar of the Romantic era
His boundless inventiveness as a painter—and not only—shines through in this ambitious survey
NewsDiscoveries
Emperor Constantine's giant finger found in the Louvre
Ancient object—initially believed to be a toe—perfectly fits the hand of ancient bronze statue in Rome's Musei Capitolini
PreviewExhibitions
How Delacroix went from lycée dropout to establishment favourite
Exhibition at the Musée du Louvre is first major survey of the painter’s work in more than 50 years
InterviewMusée du Louvre
Louvre’s director: we are active in 75 countries
Jean-Luc Martinez says the museum’s international projects have skyrocketed over the past five years
NewsAppointments & departures
Louvre director Jean-Luc Martinez’s contract extended for three more years
Paris museum chief must focus on partnerships with Asia and sustained attendance, culture minister says
NewsProtest
Activists protest Louvre's oil ties
Paris-based group criticises sponsorship by French oil company Total
News
Against the odds, Louvre exhibition opens in Tehran in historic deal
French museum became first cultural institution to secure ties with Islamic regime after sanctions lifted in 2016
News
Louvre shines a light on Nazi loot
Museum hopes to find rightful heirs through display of spoliated works
News
Rising river Seine causes closures at Musée du Louvre
Paris museum has shut its Islamic Arts department, while Musée d'Orsay and Musée de l'Orangerie are also on high alert
NewsIlluminated manuscripts
Francois I’s Book of Hours has left Britain as Louvre starts to raise £8m to buy it
Renaissance manuscript with gold binding is being sold by London jeweller
ArchiveLeonardo da Vinci
Louvre Abu Dhabi to open with a Leonardo?
The artist's La Belle Ferronnière is the subject of loan discussions
ArchiveColonial art
The Louvre aims to acquire art of the Mexican school in bid to widen its geographical remit
Paris museum is on a mission to collect Latin American art—and a show of colonial-era paintings is the overture
ArchiveExhibitions
Raphael’s prep work on show at the Städel Museum
11 of the museum's works will be exhibited alongside 40 others loaned from around the world
ArchiveRestitution
Turkey turns up the heat on foreign museums as list of antiquities demanded gets longer
More exhibitions are hit by the loans boycott as Turkey pushes for restitution
ArchiveExhibitions
Prodigious, prolific, phenomenal: Raphael’s last 17 years in Rome on show at the Louvre
The Prado and the Louvre collaborate for a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition
ArchiveMusée du Louvre
Louvre’s Leonardo conservation plan leads to resignation
Fears it will affect the sfumato of the piece are growing
ArchiveMusée du Louvre
Anger over Louvre’s plan to clean Leonardo's Virgin and Child with Saint Anne
Specialists fear artist’s “smoky finish” effect may be harmed
ArchiveLeonardo da Vinci
Restoration at the National Gallery shows Leonardo in a new light
The Virgin of the Rocks minus fog
ArchiveIran
Exhibition of Iranian antiquities to be held at the Louvre in 2013
Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organisation will supervise preparations
ArchiveNews
Iraq war thwarts loans to Louvre for “Babylon” show
Negotiations have lasted five years only to fall through due to security issues
ArchiveArt fairs
Fiac bounces back thanks to homegrown collectors
François Pinault, Bernard Arnault and Claude Berri attended, among many others
ArchiveMuseums & Heritage
Museum of Decorative Arts to re-open in Paris—six years late
September launch will complete “Grand Louvre” project
ArchiveMusée du Louvre
Is Dan Brown to thank for increased attendance at the Louvre?
The Da Vinci effect
ArchiveMusée du Louvre
Louvre director defends partnership with High Museum of Atlanta
A statement from Henri Loyette, director of the Louvre
ArchiveFebruary 2006
Louvre gets a taste of US sponsorship as Atlanta's High Museum pays $10m to borrow works by Raphael, Rembrandt and Velázquez
The money will restore the French museum's 18th-century decorative art galleries and the collaboration seeks to improve US-French relations in the wake of the Iraq War
ArchiveMuseums
Breaking down the maths of museum earnings: An ominous assessment of exhibition profits
There is a basic problem in suggesting that earned income can keep a museum afloat
ArchiveAuction houses
Louvre makes an unexpected splash at Boisgirard auctions with E2.8 million purchase of Ancient Greek horse head
The piece could be a precursor of the Parthenon sculptures
ArchiveMusée du Louvre
A warmer welcome for Americans at the Louvre as some wall texts are translated into English and Spanish
American Express and American Friends of the Louvre are making their mark on the French institution
ArchiveLeonardo da Vinci
New “anti-terrorist” display case for the Mona Lisa
After 500 years, Leonardo’s fragile portrait is starting to warp
ArchiveExhibitions
Tanagra: myth and archaeology
New exhibition at the Louvre, Paris.
ArchiveLeonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci's drawings and manuscripts at the Louvre
Many items on display have not been exhibited since 1952
ArchivePre-Colombian
The Art Newspaper reports on the 2002 Biennale des Antiquaires held at The Louvre
Barges on the Seine, a Liao gold mask and spooky pre-Colombian tomb figures at the smartest decorative arts fair in the world
ArchiveMuseums & Heritage
How The Met and the Louvre are complicit in the illegal art and antiques trade: Interview with Manus Brinkman
Museums must set the standard for collectors and dealers, says Manus Brinkman Secretary General of the International Council of Museums
ArchiveExhibitions
The man who made the Louvre: Dominique-Vivant de Non and the exhibition in his honour
An exhibition devoted to the ultimate Enlightenment man who built the collections of the world’s first modern museum
ArchiveRestitution
Jewish family loses out to Louvre over WWII spoliation case
After an emergency ruling, the Louvre retains five Italian paintings that were salvaged after the war and the aggrieved Gentili family must now await appeal. Meanwhile, the Musée national d’art moderne has approved the return of more works
ArchiveInterviews
When the Musée du Louvre moves into the Richelieu wing, for years occupied by the Ministry of France, it overtakes the Metropolitan in New York as the biggest museum in the world. We have interviewed its director Michel Laclotte, who has seen the project through to completion
The apotheosis of the Louvre
ArchiveMuseums & Heritage
New space and layout for the Department of Decorative Arts at the Louvre
Giving the treasures a chance to breathe
ArchiveMuseum of Decorative Arts
The Director of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs talks about forging links with industry and hi-tech which will allow visitors to “wear” the jewellery and costumes
“We are not just a temple to gold and glass but should turn our attention to daily life”