There reigned Tuesday, January 11 a methodical agitation in the red rooms of the Louvre, setting for French painting of the nineteenth century.
On this weekly closing day, specially trained curators and handlers moved Delacroixes.
As in a ballet, each had his role and his gestures, synchronized with the others.
White gloves are required for the release of the as furious as monumental
The Death of Sardanapalus
(nearly 4 × 5 m), which a dozen people load on a high straggler and drive to the Salon Carré.
An enclosure has been set up there especially for this masterpiece, which will, for a month, be meticulously photographed and x-rayed.
To read also
Under layers of yellowed varnish, the genius of Delacroix
Until February 12, this will unfortunately obscure the Mantegna, Botticelli, Lippi and other Fra Diamante Renaissance who remained here.
“But it was impossible to do otherwise
,” argues Sébastien
Allard, director of the paintings department.
In the entire Denon wing, this is the only place we could proceed ...
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