Art News. Vasari Codex

person people schedule Feb 25, 2026 visibility 13 link 3 artists

christophe leribault louvre president appointment

French President Emmanuel Macron has appointed Christophe Leribault as the new president of the Louvre Museum, following the sudden resignation of Laurence des Cars. Leribault, an 18th-century art expert who was currently serving as the director of the Palace of Versailles, takes over the institution during a period of significant internal crisis. In a concurrent move, Annick Lemoine was named the new director of the Musée d’Orsay and the Musée de l’Orangerie, filling the vacancy left by the late Sylvain Amic.

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article news schedule Jan 20, 2026 visibility 13 link 1 artist

louvre robbery footage french television

French broadcaster France Télévisions aired previously unseen footage of the October 2025 robbery at the Louvre Museum, in which thieves stole crown jewels worth approximately €88 million ($102 million). The four-minute video, shown on the investigative program Complément d'enquête, captures the thieves smashing display cases with their fists and an angle grinder while security guards remain largely motionless nearby. One guard briefly confronts the thieves with a rope stanchion before backing down, and another makes a phone call. The footage corroborates findings from a security audit that deemed the museum's system "outdated and inadequate," with a severe lack of functioning cameras. Louvre director Laurence des Cars had previously stated that the sole camera covering the gallery was facing the wrong direction, and it took guards eight minutes to access the correct feed during the break-in.

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article news schedule Jan 15, 2026 visibility 14 link 3 artists

stolen louvre robbery jewels investigation update parking lot

Paris investigators have traced the last known location of $102 million in jewels stolen from the Louvre in October 2025 to an underground parking lot in Aubervilliers, a suburb of Paris. The Anti-Gang Brigade (BRB) used CCTV footage to follow two scooters used in the escape to the garage, where suspects Abdoulaye N., Slimane K., and Rachid H. are believed to have hidden the loot and getaway vehicles. Despite eight arrests, the jewels remain missing, and the vehicles have not been recovered.

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article news schedule Jan 15, 2026 visibility 15 link 3 artists

stolen louvre jewels parking garage

Police have identified a parking garage in Aubervilliers, a Paris suburb, as the last known location of the jewels stolen from the Louvre in a $102 million heist on October 19. Surveillance footage shows two suspects handling some of the stolen pieces less than an hour after the robbery. Four men have been arrested—including a former YouTube stunt rider known as “Doudou Cross Bitume”—and a fifth suspect, a woman, remains at large. The jewels themselves have not been recovered.

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article news schedule Dec 17, 2025 visibility 14 link 1 artist

walkout louvre staff unions vote continue strike

Unionized staff at the Louvre Museum in Paris voted unanimously to continue a strike that began on Monday, with hundreds of workers walking out to protest deteriorating working conditions, insufficient staffing, and a proposed dual pricing system for non-EU visitors. The strike has forced partial closures, with the museum offering only a limited 'masterpiece route' featuring works like the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. Unions rejected a Culture Ministry offer to cancel a planned €5.7 million budget cut, recruit more staff, and raise pay, deeming the proposals insufficient. Workers also oppose a plan to raise ticket prices for non-EU visitors from €22 to €32 to fund renovations, and criticize the use of funds from a brand licensing deal with Abu Dhabi.

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article news schedule Dec 15, 2025 visibility 12 link 5 artists

louvre closed as workers begin strike france

The Louvre Museum in Paris was forced to close on Monday after approximately 400 employees went on strike to protest deteriorating working conditions. The strike, organized by unions CGT, CFDT, and Sud, blocked the museum's iconic pyramid entrance. Workers cited a brazen $102 million theft of French crown jewels in October 2025 as evidence of deep operational dysfunction, and they accused management of failing to address longstanding security and staffing issues. The closure follows a turbulent year that included a leaked memo from director Laurence des Cars warning of water leaks and overcrowding, a wildcat strike in June, and the closure of the Sully wing due to structural weaknesses.

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article news schedule Dec 8, 2025 visibility 16 link 3 artists

what was stolen louvre crown jewels photos

Thieves broke into the Louvre Museum in Paris and stole several pieces of the French Crown Jewels from the Galerie d'Apollon, including a diadem, necklace, earrings, and brooches from the parures of Queen Marie-Amélie, Queen Hortense, Empress Marie-Louise, and Empress Eugénie. Two items—the reliquary brooch and the corsage bow—were dropped and recovered, and a ninth item, Empress Eugénie's crown, was also taken but later recovered. The thieves triggered alarms and fled after a fast, violent break-in, leaving behind a cherry picker; no injuries were reported.

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article news schedule Nov 6, 2025 visibility 7 link 1 artist

key louvre security password at time of heist

A French court report reveals that the Louvre museum's security system was severely compromised at the time of a major jewel heist, with the password for its key surveillance server set to "Louvre" and another system protected by the password "THALES." The report from France's Court of Auditors, leaked to the press, details how the museum repeatedly postponed security upgrades while prioritizing high-profile acquisitions and renovations, despite an annual operating budget of €323 million. The heist saw roughly $102 million in French crown jewels stolen, and only 432 CCTV cameras monitored 465 galleries in 2024, leaving 61% of galleries without surveillance.

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article news schedule Oct 24, 2025 visibility 14 link 5 artists

louvre robbery history behind stolen crown jewels

Eight pieces of the French Crown Jewels were stolen from the Louvre Museum on October 19, including a pearl-and-diamond tiara and a bow-shaped brooch that once belonged to Empress Eugénie, as well as a sapphire parure and diadem owned by Queen Maria Amalia. The theft has drawn attention to the jewels' complex history: most of the Crown Jewels were auctioned off in 1887 by the French government to eliminate monarchical symbols, and the stolen pieces were among the few remaining in the Louvre's collection, some repurchased at great expense in the 1990s and 2000s with help from the Société des Amis du Louvre.

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candle obituary schedule Sep 2, 2025 visibility 13 link 2 artists

sylvain amic musee d orsay dead

Sylvain Amic, an art historian who became director of the Musée d’Orsay in Paris just 16 months ago, died suddenly at age 58 on Sunday in southern France due to heart failure. His death has shocked the French and international art world. Amic previously led the Musée Fabre in Montpellier, oversaw a consortium of 11 museums in Rouen, and served as an adviser to former French culture minister Rima Abdul Malak. He was in the midst of planning a permanent collection rehang and a new research center at the Orsay, and had recently organized a traveling exhibition of masterworks that visited Shanghai's Pudong Art Museum.

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gavel restitution schedule May 29, 2025 visibility 13 link 1 artist

louvre to return 258 works from rothschild cabinet of curiosities

The Louvre Museum in Paris will return 258 works from the bequest of collector Adèle de Rothschild to the Fondation des Artistes after a 2019 cross-inventory revealed the objects were improperly inventoried in the Louvre's collection. Rothschild, who died in 1922, bequeathed her private mansion and its contents to the French government with the stipulation that her cabinet of curiosities remain intact, but the Louvre held works from the cabinet—including objets d'art and Islamic art—in violation of her wishes. The foundation's director, Laurence Maynier, described the surrender as a "just return," noting that the objects were all in storage and invisible to the public. Some 30 other objects will remain at the Louvre for five years to allow curators to find replacements, and the museum will receive 104 pieces from the foundation's inventory as compensation. The cabinet is set to reopen in September.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 15, 2026 visibility 12 link 6 artists

Martin Schongauer en toute majesté

The Louvre Museum in Paris has opened a major retrospective dedicated to Martin Schongauer (c. 1445–1491), the German engraver and painter from Colmar, bringing together a large portion of his known works. The exhibition features around one hundred pieces, including fifty engravings, five of his rare drawings, and nearly all of his attributed paintings—such as the "Virgin and Child at the Window" (c. 1480) from the Getty Museum and the "Orlier Altarpiece" (c. 1470–1475) from the Musée Unterlinden. The centerpiece is Schongauer's "Virgin of the Rose Bush" (1473), displayed at low height to reveal its botanical precision. Co-curated by Pantxika Béguerie De Paepe and Hélène Grollemund, the show also highlights Schongauer's influence on contemporaries and later artists through comparative works by Rogier van der Weyden and others.

newspaper Le Journal des Arts open_in_new Read original

article policy schedule Apr 29, 2026 visibility 24 link 4 artists

Au Louvre, des directeurs de département entre responsabilités internes et rôle national

Maximilien Durand has been reappointed as head of the Department of Byzantine and Eastern Christian Arts at the Louvre Museum, a role that carries both internal museum responsibilities and national duties on behalf of the French state. Two decrees signed by Culture Minister Catherine Pégard formalize his renewal: one as head of the museum department, and another as head of the corresponding major heritage department, a status held by only nine of the Louvre's departments.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 27, 2026 visibility 32 link 14 artists, 1 gallery

Exhibitions set to open in Paris in May 2026: what's new to discover this month

A roundup of new art and cultural exhibitions opening in Paris and the Île-de-France region in May 2026 is announced. Highlights include the annual Rambolitrain toy train fair at Rambolitrain museum on May 1, free evening hours at the Bourse de Commerce on May 2, free entry to castles and museums in Yvelines and Seine-et-Marne on May 3, the Tour Auto classic car display under the Grand Palais glass roof on May 3-4, the Circle of Parisian Artists' 24th annual exhibition at Parc Floral from May 4-31, a new garden art exhibition "Jardin des Lumières" at the Grand Trianon in Versailles from May 5 to September 27, and a major Hilma af Klint exhibition at the Grand Palais.

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article news schedule Nov 19, 2025 visibility 14 link 1 gallery

louvre museum to install 100 surveillance cameras anti intrusion systems

The Louvre Museum will install 100 surveillance cameras and anti-intrusion systems following the theft of France’s crown jewels last month. Director Laurence des Cars announced the measures to the Committee of Cultural Affairs of the National Assembly, noting that the cameras will monitor the building's exterior for "complete protection of the museum's surroundings." The anti-intrusion systems will be operational within two weeks, while the cameras are expected by the end of next year. The theft involved disc cutters used to break glass display cases in the Apollo Gallery, a method des Cars said had not been anticipated when the cases were replaced in 2019.

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article news schedule Nov 10, 2025 visibility 13 link 1 gallery

louvre museum emergency security measures

Nearly a month after the theft of the French crown jewels, the Louvre Museum has announced emergency security measures following a meeting of its Board of Directors, requested by French Minister of Culture Rachida Dati and chaired by museum director Laurence des Cars. The measures span four categories: security governance, site protection, police coordination, and technical/human resources. Plans include hiring a security coordinator, installing additional cameras and anti-ram devices, conducting security audits, deploying remote monitoring equipment, increasing surveillance patrols, and boosting the training budget by 20 percent. A security master plan, estimated to cost €80 million ($92 million), will be announced next month, though the eight stolen jewels remain unrecovered and four suspects are in custody.

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article news schedule Nov 3, 2025 visibility 17 link 1 gallery

louvre jewel heist petty criminals

Paris prosecutors have revealed that the theft of French crown jewels from the Louvre Museum was carried out by petty criminals, not organized crime professionals. Four individuals—three men and one woman—have been charged, with two of the men having multiple prior theft convictions. The heist occurred on October 19, when robbers used a cherry picker and angle grinder to steal nine pieces of jewelry worth an estimated $102 million from the Apollo Gallery. One crown belonging to Empress Eugénie was later recovered outside the museum, but eight artifacts remain missing.

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article news schedule Oct 29, 2025 visibility 15 link 1 gallery

oliver gabet louvre director decorative arts le monde interview

Olivier Gabet, director of decorative arts at the Louvre Museum, has publicly opposed suggestions to replace the French crown jewels with copies or move them to less accessible storage after a theft on October 19. Thieves broke into the Apollo Gallery, stealing nine objects including Empress Eugénie’s crown, which was dropped and damaged during the escape. Two suspects were arrested on October 24. Gabet told Le Monde that the crown was deformed and flattened as thieves extracted it through slits cut in the glass case, but it has been recovered and is deemed restorable by experts, with only a few small diamonds and one gold eagle missing.

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article news schedule Oct 22, 2025 visibility 10 link 1 gallery

louvre laurence des cars senate hearing

On Wednesday, Laurence des Cars, president and director of the Louvre Museum, testified before the French Senate about the theft of nine pieces of France's crown jewels from the Apollo Gallery. The heist occurred on Sunday when robbers used a cherry picker and angle grinder to steal jewelry worth an estimated $102 million in under eight minutes. Des Cars revealed that security cameras were outdated and inadequate, with only one camera covering the breached balcony, and that she offered her resignation afterward, which the French Minister of Culture refused. The museum had previously faced criticism over security, including a staff walkout in June over staffing and safety concerns, and an official report had flagged outdated systems and lack of CCTV.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 20, 2026 visibility 11 link 11 artists, 2 galleries

Free Summer Exhibitions in 2026 Across Paris and Île-de-France: This Season’s Must-See Events

A curated guide lists free summer exhibitions across Paris and Île-de-France for 2026, including shows at Fluctuart, Perrotin Gallery, Petit Palais, Bourse de Commerce, Rachel Hardouin Gallery, and Domaine de Chamarande. Highlights include "Everybody's Searching for Their Cat" at Fluctuart (May 7–August 23), JR's "Les Esquisses de la Caverne" at Perrotin (June 5–July 25), the return of "We are (still) here" street-art exhibition at Petit Palais (June 20–September 20), and free late hours at Bourse de Commerce on the first Saturday of each month.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jan 27, 2026 visibility 12 link 1 artist, 2 galleries

The Big Art Loop is transforming SF into an open air gallery over the next three years.

The Big Art Loop has transformed San Francisco into an open-air gallery with nearly 100 sculptures installed along a 34-mile walkable and bikeable path through the city. The project, funded by the Sijbrandij Foundation and founded by Sid and Karen Sijbrandij, features works including R-Evolution at the Ferry Building, Echoes: A Voice from Uncharted Waters by Masaki Omor, Coralée by BJB, Got Framed, Desert Shark, and a double feature by Betsabeé Romero. The loop is designed to be encountered spontaneously in daily life, with no fixed starting point, and has support from Mayor Daniel Lurie.

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article local schedule May 25, 2026 visibility 5 link 5 artists

Father's Day 2026: exhibitions to enjoy with Dad in Paris this Sunday

This article, published by La Rédac with photos by Cécile de Sortiraparis, offers a curated guide to exhibitions in Paris for Father's Day on Sunday, June 21, 2026. It highlights several family-friendly shows, including a monumental installation by JR on the Pont Neuf, the Louvre's 'Primordial Water' exhibition on Mesopotamian myths, a Matisse retrospective at the Grand Palais, a Hilma af Klint exhibition at the Grand Palais, and the 'Silla: Gold and the Sacred' exhibition at the Guimet Museum, among others. The guide is regularly updated to help readers plan their outing.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 12, 2026 visibility 17 link 8 artists

Cleveland Museum of Art hosting ‘France in the Time of Manet and Morisot’

The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) has opened a free companion exhibition titled "France in the Time of Manet and Morisot," running through August 23 in the Mark Schwartz and Bettina Katz Photography Galleries. The show features 50 photographs from the museum's holdings of mid-1800s France, including works by Charles Marville and Édouard Baldus, who were commissioned by Emperor Napoleon III and the Louvre to document historic monuments and new architectural projects. Curated by Barbara Tannenbaum, CMA chair of prints, drawings, and photographs, the exhibition complements the museum's ticketed show "Manet & Morisot," which explores the artistic exchange between Édouard Manet and Berthe Morisot. Highlights include André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri's 1861 portrait "Monsieur Merlen," which is noted as an early precursor to the selfie, and a photograph of the Arc de Triomphe under construction.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 11, 2026 visibility 19 link 7 artists

Cleveland Museum of Art presents 19th-century photo exhibit 'France in the Time of Manet and Morisot'

The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) has opened a new photography exhibition, "France in the Time of Manet and Morisot," running through August 23 in the Mark Schwartz and Bettina Katz Photography Galleries. The free show features 50 photographs from CMA's holdings of mid-1800s France, complementing the museum's ticketed Impressionist display "Manet & Morisot." Curator Barbara Tannenbaum selected works by photographers such as Charles Marville, Édouard Baldus, and André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri, including Disdéri's 1861 portrait "Monsieur Merlen," which is noted as an early precursor to the modern selfie. The photographs document historic monuments, new architecture, and figures like Sarah Bernhardt, offering a visual context for the era of painters Édouard Manet and Berthe Morisot.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 7, 2026 visibility 22 link 7 artists

Ascension Weekend 2026: 10 must-see exhibitions to check out in Paris over this long weekend

For the Ascension long weekend (May 14–17, 2026), Paris offers a curated selection of ten must-see exhibitions. Highlights include a major Hilma af Klint retrospective at the Grand Palais, exploring her spiritualist and abstract works; 'Jardins des Lumières' at the Grand Trianon in Versailles, focusing on 18th-century landscape garden design; 'Sèvres, a Rothschild Passion' at the Mobilier National, showcasing Rothschild porcelain collections; and a Giovanni Segantini exhibition at the Marmottan Monet Museum, featuring his Alpine Symbolist and Divisionist paintings.

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article culture schedule May 5, 2026 visibility 28 link 12 artists

Met Gala 2026: Celebrities Wearing Art — Decoding the Inspirations Behind Their Looks

At the 2026 Met Gala, held on May 4 at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, celebrities interpreted the dress code 'Fashion is Art' with looks inspired by iconic artworks. ROSÉ wore a Saint Laurent gown based on Georges Braque's 'The Birds,' Emma Chamberlain's dress fused Vincent van Gogh's 'The Garden at Arles' and 'The Starry Night,' and Ben Platt donned a jacket reimagining Georges-Pierre Seurat's 'A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte' through bead embroidery.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 22, 2026 visibility 31 link 7 artists

Beyond the Eiffel Tower: Photo Exhibition Reveals Paris Unseen

The Sungkok Art Museum in Seoul is hosting a photography exhibition titled 'Paris Unseen' or 'Paris, Invisible Paris'. The show features works by 51 artists, including three Koreans, and was co-curated with Alain Sayag, former head of photography at the Centre Pompidou. It aims to move beyond the city's iconic tourist imagery to present lesser-known perspectives of Paris, coinciding with the 140th anniversary of Korea-France diplomatic relations.

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person people schedule Mar 4, 2026 visibility 24 link 9 artists

Profile | Pierre Rosenberg, the former Louvre president, on his long-awaited four-volume Poussin catalogue—and forthcoming museum

Pierre Rosenberg, the 89-year-old honorary president-director of the Louvre, is set to release a definitive four-volume catalogue raisonné of the works of Nicolas Poussin. This monumental publication, weighing eight kilograms, represents over sixty years of scholarship and aims to provide a comprehensive update to the field, addressing previous research by figures such as Anthony Blunt and Louis Marin.

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museum exhibitions schedule Oct 13, 2025 visibility 18 link 13 artists

Oberlin art museum kicks off fall with a fine Monet show and a new director

The Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College has opened "Picturing Paris: Monet and the Modern City," a focused exhibition reuniting three Claude Monet paintings from spring 1867, including the museum's own "The Garden of the Princess" alongside two loans from European museums. The show features over 30 additional works from the Allen's collection by artists such as Renoir, Degas, and Cézanne, and coincides with the arrival of new director Jon Seydl, who returned to Northeast Ohio in July after leadership roles at the Cleveland Museum of Art, Worcester Art Museum, and Krannert Art Museum.

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museum exhibitions schedule Aug 24, 2025 visibility 14 link 7 artists

Monet and other French artists on display at Gainesville’s Harn Museum

The Harn Museum of Art in Gainesville, Florida, has opened "French Moderns: Monet to Matisse, 1850-1950," an exhibition featuring 56 works from the Brooklyn Museum’s European art collection plus two additional Monet paintings. The show, which took three years to secure, spans a century of French art from Impressionism to Surrealism, with works by Monet, Matisse, and other leading artists. It is divided into four thematic sections and is free to the public thanks to anonymous donations.

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