Diplomacy Or Scandal? U.S. Art at the Louvre Entr'acte

Having received a record 7.3 million visitors last year, the Louvre is bracing for a fresh wave of tourists after the screen adaptation of "The Da Vinci Code" is released next month. And for a museum that charges entrance fees to help pay its way, even a movie that portrays a murder in its grandest gallery can hardly be all bad.

But this year the Louvre is also planning to connect France and the United States in a, well, more serious way through a series of exchanges in areas it knows rather better: paintings, drawings, sculptures and decorative arts. As a result, part of the Louvre's collection will travel to the United States and American art will make a rare appearance in the Louvre.

True, relatively few people will actually see these works. Yet the importance of such cultural exchanges is symbolic. They indicate a willingness to collaborate on matters pertaining to the spirit, even when more earthly issues are subjects of contention.

Indeed, these exchanges were being worked out when Franco- American relations were at their most strained over Iraq. "Many felt the need to reinforce cultural relations to help get over this," said Henri Loyrette, the president-director of the Louvre. "This was a strong feeling, that culture could transcend what was taking place in politics."

At it happens, in this case, France is making the principal gesture, not least because the Louvre is a prestigious government- owned museum, while its American partners the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and the Chicago-based Terra Foundation for American Art are smaller private institutions. In other words, in the world of art, the Louvre is France.

The most ambitious initiative involves showing art from the Louvre at the High Museum over a three-year period, starting in October, with nine temporary exhibitions built around three themes: the royal collections from Francis I to Louis XVI; the treasures of ancient civilizations; and "The Louvre Today and Tomorrow," focusing on the museum's new openness to the world.

The Louvre is also sending the real stuff. Among masterpieces traveling to Atlanta are Raphael's "Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione," Rembrandt's "St. Matthew and Angel," Velazquez's "Infanta Maria Margarita," Murillo's "Young Beggar" and Poussin's "Et in Arcadia Ego." And to these can be added Greek statues, Roman sculptures, exquisite drawings and more. The Louvre, then, will share its permanent collection, while the High Museum has found private and commercial sponsors to cover the $18 million cost of the program. And to sweeten the deal, American sponsors will contribute $6.4 million toward the refurbishment of the Louvre's 18th-century French furniture galleries.

Straightforward? Not quite. Many in France's cultural establishment have what might be called an ideological distaste for linking public art and private money. And while in practice French museums routinely seek corporate sponsorship for exhibitions, anything approaching the American model of privately-financed culture sets off alarm bells.

Thus, when details of the Louvre's agreement with the High Museum were released first in the United States, suspicions were raised in Paris that something odd was afoot. "In France, it is a state secret," an art critic, Didier Rykner, proclaimed on his Web site in January. One newspaper, La Croix, went further, saying the Louvre was preparing to "rent out" its art.

For Loyrette, who announced the program last week, this is much ado about nothing.

"It's a very French polemic," he said, "the difficulty we have in discussing money, the difficulty we have in recognizing that culture has a price. The American sponsors find it totally normal to make a contribution."

Money was hardly his motivation. Rather, he said, when he arrived at the Louvre in 2001, he set out to increase the Louvre's ties with the United States: already in 2003, he supported creation of the American Friends of the Louvre. In this case, he went on, the aim was to expand relations with American museums to include those of major regional cities, like Atlanta.

"Our exchanges are usually linked to temporary shows, one-offs, where there is hard work and little follow-up," he said. "Here we will have time to reflect, to share experiences in education and research. It has also given the Louvre's departments the new experience of working together."

It is no less a novelty, though, for the Louvre to open its doors to American art.

Until now, the relationship has been asymmetrical. Not only did droves of American artists study in France in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but American museums are also full of French art. In contrast, the Louvre has only three American paintings in its collection, something that Loyrette considers "scandalous."

So, from June 14 through Sept. 18, working with the Terra Foundation, the Louvre will display 30 paintings by American artists who were inspired by the Louvre. These will include works by Benjamin West and George Catlin in a 1760-1860 section and by James McNeill Whistler, Thomas Eakins and Edward Hopper for the period through 1940. Outside the Louvre, these artists are more visible. The National Museum of Franco-American Cooperation at Blerancourt is currently under renovation, but the Terra Foundation also runs the Musee d'Art American in Giverny, a stone's throw from Monet's last studio. And there, this summer's show will be "Winslow Homer: Poet of the Sea."

But the Louvre has more up its sleeve. Coinciding with "American Artists at the Louvre," the museum has invited the American artist Mike Kelley to create a work for its Salle de la Maquette. Then, in November, the American writer Toni Morrison will offer a personal interpretation of the history and art of the Louvre around the theme, "A Stranger in His Home."

For Loyrette, then, the message is clear. He welcomes visitors who want to track "The Da Vinci Code" through the Grande Galerie, but he also believes that in cultural terms France and the United States can do more for each other. At least, that is what he wants to demonstrate this year. "What is easy is if you never do anything new," he noted. "No one will hold it against you."

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