“Although they create a safe environment for art and the public, their essence resides in openness and accessibility. At this challenging time and during this ordeal for the Louvre, we express our sincerest support to our colleagues, as well as to their president and director, Laurence des Cars, whose leadership and dedication to the museum’s mission, especially as a place of unity in such fractured societies, are deeply respected and admired.”
Signatories include Brazilian Adriano Pedrosa, director of the São Paulo Museum of Art, Miguel Falomir, director of the Prado Museum, Pepe Serra from the National Museum of Art of Catalonia, Maria Balshaw from Tate (London), Taco Dibbits from the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam), Claire Bernardi from the National Museum of the Orangerie (Paris), Francesca Cappelletti, general director of the Borghese Gallery (Rome), Christophe Cherix from the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, Nicholas Cullinan from the British Museum (London), and Cécile Debray, president of the National Picasso-Paris Museum.
The heads of the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico and the Pompidou Center in Paris also endorsed the letter, which emphasizes that “this theft is not only an attack on the Louvre but on museums as a whole in their most fundamental mission: sharing the common heritage of humanity with as many people as possible.”
“We will continue to fulfill this mission together, with enthusiasm and determination, alongside the Louvre Museum,” the letter adds.
The message was released a day after French authorities detained two men suspected of being part of the group of four who, on the morning of October 19, robbed the world’s most visited museum, stealing several pieces from the crown jewel collection, valued at approximately 88 million euros, although their patrimonial value is immeasurable.
The jewels—from the imperial era of Napoleon Bonaparte—were taken in a matter of minutes from the Apollo Gallery of the Louvre, accessed from the outside by breaking a window. The imperial crown was found outside the Louvre, albeit damaged.
In the letter, the officials link the theft to the “brutality” of today’s world and warn that their institutions face increasingly violent acts against cultural heritage.
“What happened at the Louvre is one of the greatest fears of museum professionals. Some of us have already experienced it. These risks weigh on each of our institutions. They weigh on each work from the moment it is displayed,” the text further reads.
