The Louvre Catches Up With the Times

Who is making "the first permanent contribution to the Louvre's décor since Georges Braque painted the ceiling of Henri II's former antechamber in 1953?" German artist Anselm Kiefer. (His installation will be unveiled to the public on Thursday.) The New York Times has the story here.

If you think it's strange that an institution known primarily for masterpieces such as David's Oath of the Horatii, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People, and, who could forget, the Mona Lisa, has commissioned work from a contemporary artist, you'd be right. Strange but good. It will likely breathe new life into the staid museum. No doubt, it will be jarring to see Kiefer's self-portrait in the stairwell on your way from the gallery displaying Egyptian antiquities to the one that houses Mesopotamian artifacts. That's some art historical perspective for you.

Compare this with the Met's attempt to get with the times by installing Damien Hirst's shark on the second floor, and it's easy to give voice to the niggling feeling that the Met hasn't done anything radical to upgrade its contemporary holdings at all. Whereas the Louvre has engaged Kiefer to create something for a specific space in the museum, the Met has simply agreed to let a very rich man show off a piece that owes some (if not all) of its popularity to the artist's unparalleled ability to create sensation and market himself.