Dutch-South African artist Marlene Dumas has made history as the first contemporary artist to have her work installed at the Louvre, though the inauguration took place in an unusually subdued manner on November 6, 2024. The ceremony for her commissioned work "Liaisons" proceeded despite recent controversies surrounding the world-famous museum.
The timing of the inauguration was particularly striking, occurring less than three weeks after a theft in the Apollo Gallery on October 19 and on the same day France's Court of Auditors released a damning report about the Louvre's management practices. Despite the scale of controversy these events generated, museum officials decided to maintain the scheduled unveiling, albeit in a much more low-key fashion than originally planned.
On Thursday afternoon at 2 PM, only a small group of art critics gathered at the Lions Gate to discover this contemporary work that the Louvre hopes to position alongside other significant modern commissions. These include the ceiling by Georges Braque, the late American artist Cy Twombly's ceiling installation, and paintings commissioned from renowned artists Anselm Kiefer and Jean-Michel Othoniel.
"Liaisons," the Louvre's commission for the Lions Gate, consists of nine large portraits, each measuring 1.75 by 1.63 meters. The works carry the spiritual weight of African ritual objects, reflecting the powerful artistic vision of Dumas, who gained international acclaim following her major exhibition at Palazzo Grassi in Venice in 2023. The installation marks a significant moment in the museum's efforts to incorporate contemporary art into its historic spaces.
The commission has been installed at the entrance to the new Hall of Continents, strategically positioning Dumas's contemporary vision at the threshold of this newly conceived space. This placement underscores the Louvre's intention to create meaningful dialogue between its classical collections and contemporary artistic expression, despite the current administrative challenges facing the institution.
