For the first time in history, the main museum of the world was headed by a woman
French President Emmanuel Macron has chosen a new director of the country’s main museum – for the first time in its 228-year history, the Louvre will be headed by a woman. Until recently, 54-year-old Laurence de Car directed the Musée d’Orsay and the Orangerie Museum, and from September 1 she will take the director’s chair of the Louvre. What to expect from the new head of the world’s most popular museum?
Laurence de Car’s career as a specialist in 19th and early 20th century art began at the Musée d’Orsay, where she joined as a curator in 1994. In this field, she made a number of painting exhibitions and wrote several books about the Pre-Raphaelites. And in 2007, as they say, she went into power – she was appointed scientific director of the Agency for Museums of France, which, among other things, was responsible for the creation and development of the Louvre-Abu Dhabi Museum. In 2014, de Car became the head of the Orangerie Museum, and later, in 2017, the Museum d’Orsay, already native to her. That is, Laurence has quite a lot of experience in the field of museum management, she is considered a good manager, and she is also known for promoting social issues through art.
In her new position, she intends to increase the number of “young visitors and give artists and visitors to the museum more physical space.” Laurence de Car has followed this strategy before. Under her leadership, the young and international audience of the Orangerie Museum grew significantly: about half of the visitors were under 30 years old, and three quarters of them came from abroad. De Car said she would “foster a dialogue between ancient art and the modern world,” and extend the Louvre’s opening hours to attract younger visitors. The museum now closes at 17:30. By the way, de Car’s predecessor Jean-Luc Martinez also planned to extend the Louvre’s working day.
Martinez will now take on an honorary position as Special Ambassador for International Cooperation in the Field of Cultural Heritage. He headed the Louvre for two consecutive terms – since 2013. Under him, a historical record was set – in 2018, the Louvre was visited by 10.2 million people.
The main intrigue of recent months in the cultural environment of France was the question of whether Martinez would be allowed to go to a third term. But no, they didn’t. Obviously, a wave of criticism in the media prevented him from taking the director’s chair of the most popular museum in the world. Martinez was accused of excessive passion for commercial collaborations with fashion brands and the unsuccessful renovation of the Hall of Bronzes, which was painted 11 years ago by artist Cy Twombly. The story resonated. On February 1, 2021, the Sai Twombly Foundation sent Martinez an official letter demanding that the Hall of Bronzes be restored to its original form, where the artist painted the ceiling in 2010. According to the author’s idea, the sky-colored ceiling was supposed to be reflected in the polished marble floor of the hall. But during the renovation, the marble was replaced with oak parquet, without Twombly asking. The artist called it “a terrible insult.”
Presumably Laurence de Car will be more circumspect. She sees the Louvre as a model of “national discourse tied to contemporary themes.” And this view was to the liking of the President of France.
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