The Grand Louvre [antikvár]

Beaux-Arts: Few museums in the world enjoy the prestigious location and building of the Louvre. In this most venerated place, the authorities were not afraid to call upon contemporary architecture to enable the museum to cope with its mission at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Is it possible today to draw up an assessment of the opening of the Pyramid and the new reception areas of the Louvre? Michel Laclotte: It is still rather early to analyse this phenomenon, since it would be necessary to take into account the surprise effect created by the Pyramid, its fashionableness. There is still a considerable percentage of visitors that comes to the Louvre only for the Pyramid, going around it and then leaving. On this matter, it is symptomatic that at certain moments when there was a queue at the Pyramid entrance, visitors would prefer to wait rather than use another entrance. The architectural object is nowadays hardly contested. It is totally integrated into the Parisian landscape, to the point of having become one of its symbols, like the Eiffel Tower. But as Pei himself reminds us, the Pyramid is only one thing amongst others. A recent survey shows that the public stays longer in the Louvre than in the past. And, very important for us, many return. Moreover, although faced with international tourism, a certain consolidation of the French public is to be noted. This rise is very important. In 1989, we had more than 4.5 millión visitors as opposed to 3 millión in 1988. Is this to say that we will have to receive more than 5 millión this year? No, the existence of a museum cannot be reduced to a question of "viewer ratings". Our aim is not to increase this figureindefinitely, this would create reception problems, in particular regarding the Mona Lisa, but rather to improve the quality of the visit. This having been said, stars will remain stars, and the Mona Lisa, the Venus of Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace are still as popular as ever. Beaux-Arts: The rebuilding work, on the rue de Rivoli side of the Richelieu wing, once occupied by the Ministry of Fináncé, has allowed the possibility of a vast renewed display of the collections. Will this provide an opportunity for "revelations"? Michel Laclotte: With the Richelieu wing, which will be inaugurated in 1993, all the Museum's departments will benefit, directly or indirectly, from an increase in surface area. This wing, entirely reserved for the presentation of works is as large as the Orsay museum. Its opening will be the occasion for numerous rediscoveries, such as, for example, French sculpture in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, or the great tapestries like the famous "Chasses de Maximilien" series, very rarely seen previously. The schools of the North, very cramped in their old rooms, will be a revelation for many a visitor. One must add that these new rooms of French painting on the secondfloor of the Cour Carrée, recently inaugurated, have already enabled the public unveiling of major witnesses to historical painting somé of which had been kept back for decades, such as the Battles of Alexander by Lebrun. This process will be continued in 1992 with 18th and 19th century French painting, which will result in a change in the Grandé Galerie, henceforth to be dedicated to Italian painting. Beaux-Arts: The exhibitions organized by the Louvre have received a new impetus. During the "Polyptiques" exhibition, we saw contemporary works together with old paintings. What is your policy concerning this? Michel Laclotte: The presence of contemporary art in the Louvre is not new. Until 1850, the museum hosted the main modern art event, the Painting Exhibition (Sálon de Peinture). But what explains our approach is the acknowledgement of the presence of artists who find their inspiration in the Louvre by coming to see or copy the works. It is one of the very signs of the essential functions of a museum: to serve as an example and to stimulate creativity.