On May 3, a hailstorm caused water to leak into the Musée du Louvre in Paris, nearly damaging Cimabue's "Maestà" (1280-85), the centerpiece of the exhibition "A New Look at Cimabue: At the Origins of Italian Painting." Drops fell close to the painting, which is displayed without glass protection, and also landed on the base of a nearby sculpture by Nicola Pisano's studio. Guards initially struggled to respond, but the exhibition was closed within half an hour, and the Louvre confirmed no works were damaged.
The incident matters because it highlights the vulnerability of irreplaceable masterpieces, especially those on wooden panels like the "Maestà," which was recently restored for the first time in nearly 200 years. The leak, caused by a damaged glass seal, underscores the challenges museums face in protecting art from environmental threats, even in world-class institutions. The near-miss also draws attention to the fragility of early Italian painting and the logistical difficulties of safeguarding large, unglazed works.