“Le Louvre va nous être rendu!”. La nuova sistemazione del museo parigino nei giornali all’indomani della guerra: André Chastel e gli altri (1945-1953)

Abstract

In the aftermath of World War II, the reopening of the Louvre Museum became an important issue. The process was long and complex, and the rationale not always obvious to the public. Newspapers played an important role in conveying the methods applied to achieve it. In 1951, the art historian André Chastel published, in Le Monde, a critical inquiry on the situation of the Parisian Museum. His analysis stands out for its accuracy in describing the state of the building, revealing the curators’ and architects’ challenges due to the modernization of display methods. His work also aspired to raise public awareness on the functioning of a museum, highlighting the process of implementing its internal services (libraries and avant-garde scientific laboratories). Drawing on Chastel’s analysis and, from a comparative perspective, those of other journalists and art critics, this study highlights the value of the engaged journalism of these well-informed critics as relevant sources to appreciate the different transformations used to put the Louvre’s modernization into practice.