Some is herculean, like makeovers in the Egyptian antiquities hall and the Sully Wing. Some of the work is relatively simple, like dusting the frames of nearly 4,500 paintings. Instead of waiting until Tuesdays – the sole day that the Louvre used to close – curators, restorers, conservators and other experts are pressing ahead five days a week to complete major renovations that had started before the pandemic and introduce new beautifications that they hope to finish by mid-February. In the meantime a small army of around 250 artisans has been working since France’s latest lockdown went into effect on October 30th. Louvre officials are hoping the government will reopen cultural institutions to the public soon, although the date depends on the course the virus takes. Curatorsīut virtual reality can hardly replace the real thing. Louvre lovers have had to settle for seeing masterpieces during the pandemic through virtual tours and the hashtags #LouvreChezVous and Millions of viewers got a spectacular fix this month from the Netflix hit series Lupin, in which actor Omar Sy, playing a gentleman thief, stars in action-filled scenes in the Louvre’s best-known galleries and under I.M. “For some projects the lockdown has allowed us to do in five days what would have previously taken five weeks,” said Sébastien Allard, general curator and director of the Louvre’s paintings department.

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