But they are not completely alone – the museum is making the most of the closings, carrying out long-planned renovations.
“(The Louvre) is still alive, even though it looks really asleep,” said project manager Gautier Moysset, in front of a set of 19th-century doors that previously opened to the French kings’ bedroom.
Behind him, Gaëlle Dulac is carefully bringing the doors back to life, alternating between brushes made of pig bristles and badger hair while recreating the wood grain with layers of paint.
The “Mona Lisa” alone in the Louvre, with no visitors.
The curator says the period of silence helped him to reconsider the way the Louvre displays its vast collection.
“Suddenly, a painting looks too big (or) too small, or the frame doesn’t match the next ones,” he explains. “You have to listen to what the works have to say. Sometimes they don’t like each other and you have to separate them.”
Curator Julien Cuny is also taking the opportunity to reflect on the Persian collections he oversees.
“There needs to be consistency in the museum. What is the job doing here? How does it communicate with other jobs?” he says, guiding a forklift that carries a 400 kg (882 pounds) stele through a passage lined with Roman marble sculptures.
“It’s sad because, from a logistical point of view, we can do a lot,” says Cuny. “But the works of art were meant to be seen.”