Louvre sends treasures to safety in case Seine floods

The Louvre has about 35,000 objects on display in the former royal palace that was turned into a museum after the Revolution. MUSEE DU LOUVRE/PHILIPPE RUAULT. The centre was built at a cost of €42 million to contain what one expert called “the memory of humanity” – 250,000 paintings, drawings, statues and other objects from across the world and spanning nine millennia. The works belong to the Louvre but unlike the French museum’s stars — Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo or the Winged Victory of Samothrace — they are held out of sight in storage rooms. Now, this literally priceless stored collection – the Louvre says it would be impossible to estimate its worth – is being transferred to a modern conservation centre in Liévin, northern France, where it will be held for future generations. Source: The Times, Monday 21 December 2020