person Marion Krauze

La basilique de Reims en péril

The roof of the Basilica of Saint-Remi in Reims, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is at risk of collapse after a large section detached, exposing the timber frame. Emergency securing works began on May 26 and are expected to continue until June 12, with the nave and cloister closed to the public. The damage, caused by extreme temperature variations and water infiltration, has worsened rapidly in recent weeks. Mayor Arnaud Robinet estimates the total restoration cost at €65 million, with the city covering initial emergency repairs.

The Château de Malmaison Restored

Le château de Malmaison restauré

The Château de Malmaison, former home of Joséphine de Beauharnais, has undergone a comprehensive exterior restoration completed in April 2026 after nearly four years of work. The €14 million project, fully funded by the French Ministry of Culture and overseen by architect François Jeanneau and the Opérateur du patrimoine et des projets immobiliers de la culture (Oppic), addressed structural issues including roofs, frames, doors, and windows, while also restoring ornamental elements and the entrance pavilion designed by Charles Percier and Pierre Léonard Fontaine. The most visible change is the façade, where a deteriorating cement coating from 1936 was replaced with a pale yellow plaster based on historical watercolors by Victor Jean Nicolle, restoring the building's early 19th-century appearance without closing the château to visitors.

Funerary Practices in Prehistory

Pratiques funéraires à la préhistoire

The Musée national de Préhistoire in Les Eyzies, Dordogne, has opened an exhibition titled "Gestes d'éternité" that surveys funerary practices from the Paleolithic to the Mesolithic periods, covering approximately 8,000 years. Curated by museum director Nathalie Fourment and archaeologist Brad Gravina, the show presents archaeological finds such as the decorated skull of the Dame de Cavillon, burials from the Qafzeh cave in Israel and Krems in Austria, and a virtual tour of the Cussac cave. The exhibition aims to reveal the symbolic and complex thinking behind prehistoric mortuary rites through material evidence, including bones, ornaments, casts, and detailed educational displays.

Vénus revient à Arles

The Louvre has loaned the iconic "Vénus d'Arles" statue to the Musée départemental Arles antique for a new exhibition that reexamines the ancient Roman sculpture through modern and contemporary art. Co-curated by Romy Wyche and Ludovic Laugier, with contributions from art historian Jean de Loisy, the show features nearly 80 works that juxtapose ancient artifacts with pieces by artists such as Serena Carone, Chantal Akerman, Michelangelo Pistoletto, and Annette Messager, exploring themes of the female gaze, bodily vitality, and the enduring power of the Venus archetype.

Aux Catacombes, une visite réinventée

After five months of closure, the Catacombs of Paris have reopened with a major modernization project. The site now features a new immersive audio guide narrated by the voice of its historical founder, Louis Étienne Héricart de Thury, along with improved lighting that highlights previously invisible details and a revamped climate-control system to better preserve the bones. The €5.5 million renovation, led by Paris Musées and funded by the City of Paris, also included structural repairs to the bone stacks using dry-stone techniques instead of cement.

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.

À Bordeaux, la métamorphose du MADD

The Musée des arts décoratifs et du design (MADD) in Bordeaux has reopened its design-focused wing after three years of renovation, featuring a new entrance pavilion designed by Antoine Dufour Architectes that connects the historic Hôtel de Lalande and the former municipal prison. The overhaul includes a monumental shelving display of eighty vases by designers such as Andrea Branzi and Gaetano Pesce, a new "gallery of know-how" dedicated to rotating thematic presentations (starting with ceramics), a graphic arts cabinet showcasing the Jacques Sargos collection of over 130 drawings, and improved climate control for conservation.

Au Louvre, l’ambitieuse restauration du cycle de Marie de Médicis

The Louvre Museum in Paris is undertaking an ambitious restoration of Peter Paul Rubens's monumental cycle of 24 paintings depicting the life of Marie de Médicis. The project, which will take four years and cost €4 million funded by the Société des Amis du Louvre, begins this autumn with the paintings being restored in situ in the Médicis Gallery. The gallery will close in May to prepare the space as a restoration workshop, where two teams of 10–15 restorers will work simultaneously on cleaning, relining, and filling gaps. The last major restoration of the cycle dates to the 1950s, and recent diagnostics revealed yellowed varnish, discordant repaints, and flaking paint layers that risk irreversible loss.

The Textile Museum: A Frayed Project

Le Musée des tissus, un projet décousu

The renovation and expansion of the Musée des Tissus et des Arts Décoratifs in Lyon has stalled despite being acquired by the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region seven years ago. Although architect Rudy Ricciotti revised his initial designs to satisfy local urban planning requirements and resident concerns, the project faces significant delays, with no building permit filed and a fluctuating budget that recently dropped from 60 million to 32 million euros. Tensions between the regional leadership and the City of Lyon have further complicated the timeline, leaving the museum closed to the public for four years.

The Art of Appearing

De l’art de paraître

The Musée Cognacq-Jay in Paris is hosting an exhibition titled "Révéler le féminin," which explores the intersection of 18th-century fashion and portraiture. Curated in collaboration with the Palais Galliera and the Musée d’arts de Nantes, the show features works by prominent portraitists like Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun and Maurice Quentin de La Tour alongside rare period textiles. The exhibition examines how the rising bourgeoisie used clothing as a visual language of prestige and social standing during the Enlightenment.

Hispanic Baroque Art in Majesty

L’art baroque hispanique en majesté

The Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris is hosting an exhibition of masterpieces from the Hispanic Society of America, marking the first time this specific selection has been shown to the French public. The show features approximately forty works, including iconic paintings by El Greco and Diego Velázquez, alongside recently acquired studies and colonial-era pieces that have rarely traveled due to previous legal restrictions and the New York institution's ongoing renovations.

Gilles Bloch: "The Museum needs 1.1 billion euros"

Gilles Bloch : « Le Muséum a besoin de 1,1 milliard d’euros »

Gilles Bloch, president of the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle in Paris, has issued an urgent call for €1.1 billion in funding to address the critical state of the institution's infrastructure. Ahead of its 400th anniversary in 2026, a diagnostic report reveals that 74% of the museum's 120 buildings are in poor condition, with several galleries currently closed to the public or suffering from inadequate climate control. The requested funds would cover €500 million in emergency repairs to stabilize decaying structures and a further €600 million for long-term modernization and energy efficiency upgrades.

Cluny Deepens the Myth of the Unicorn

Cluny approfondit le mythe de la licorne

The Musée de Cluny in Paris has opened a new exhibition, "Cluny approfondit le mythe de la licorne," which delves deeper into the symbolism of the unicorn. Building on a 2018 show, this iteration presents a more extensive and scholarly selection of artworks, including prestigious loans facilitated by a partnership with the Museum Barberini in Potsdam. The exhibition showcases the creature's diverse representations across cultures, from medieval tapestries to scientific illustrations.