Louvre, renovated and refurbished galleries devoted to Italian and Spanish paintings of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries

The galleries devoted to Italian and Spanish paintings of the 17th and 18th centuries at the Louvre Museum in Paris have been reopened and completely renovated. The layout has been redesigned to take into account new acquisitions and loans from other institutions, while at the same time allowing for a more thorough examination of the works, a thorough check of their condition and, when necessary, targeted interventions for their conservation. The Porte des Lions, also totally renovated, provides quick access to these rooms located on the second floor of the Denon Wing, in continuity with the Grande Galerie, and to the new Five Continents Gallery on the ground floor.

The year-long restoration project includes repainting of the frames with new shades, renovation of the parquet floors and lighting, under the supervision of the Department of Architecture, Maintenance and Gardens. A comprehensive collection management intervention was also carried out on all paintings. Some works, which had remained placed high since the 1999 installation, were lowered, allowing a detailed assessment of their condition. Pictorial surfaces and the backs of canvases were analyzed and dusted; in several cases major restorations were carried out, with new fixings that solved problems of color adhesion and a general polishing that improved the aesthetic rendering. The frames were renewed, with gilding work carried out by the Encadrement Doir workshop. Labels and information panels were also updated to harmonize with the new layout.

Alongside the Grande Galerie, which houses some 100 works from Bologna and Rome from the first half of the 17th century, visitors can rediscover in the Salvator Rosa room a selection of paintings made in Rome from the second third of the 17th century onward. These include three works by Salvator Rosa, a great Neapolitan artist active in the capital, which introduce the Neapolitan school, represented by Luca Giordano. In addition, works from Genoa, Florence, Milan and Venice offer a broader look at Italian painting of that period.

In the Piazzetta room, dedicated to large-format works from the 18th century, Giambattista Piazzetta’sAssumption of the Virgin is now flanked by Giambattista Tiepolo’s Juno in the Clouds, acquired in 2020. Giovanni Paolo Pannini ’s impressive canvases, on the other hand, document Rome’s fascination with Europe at the time.

The first phase of the renovation of the galleries devoted to Spanish painting, scheduled for completion in 2025-2026, has been completed.
The Murillo Room (718) once again welcomes the great paintings of the 17th century, enhanced by new arrangements. Among the restored large-scale works are the four episodes from the life of St. Bonaventure by Francisco Herrera the Elder and Francisco de Zurbarán for the College of St. Buenaventura in Seville (1628-1629), which have recovered their monumental character and rich color palette.

The Murillo room leads to room 719, dedicated to Spanish painting from 1750 to 1850, where the exceptional collection of works by Francisco de Goya is on display: full-length portraits of great Spanish personalities, such as the Marquesa de Santa Cruz and the Marquis of Cistué (currently on display at the Louvre-Lens), and portraits of figures close to the artist, including Don Evaristo Pérez de Castro. The centerpiece of the room is the portrait of Ferdinand Guillemardet, ambassador of the French Republic in Madrid, painted by Goya in 1798. The new arrangement has also made it possible to exhibit four copper plates engraved by the artist for the Disparates series (acquired in 2011), which present enigmatic scenes with a grotesque tone, such as the “rain of bulls,” revealing a lesser-known and more experimental side of his production.

Also among the works temporarily sent to storage for analysis, cleaning and restoration is Bartolomé Esteban Murillo’s A Miracle of Brother Francisco, known as The Kitchen of the Angels, a 4.5-meter oil on canvas that had major conservation problems and is now the subject of extensive intervention. It is the only signed work from the first major commission received by the young Murillo in 1646, intended for the small Franciscan cloister in Seville. The scene, depicting a friar discovering that angels have prepared a meal in his place, has fascinated visitors since its arrival at the Louvre in 1858. After being examined at the French Museums’ Center for Research and Restoration (C2RMF), the painting has been entrusted to restorers Alix Laveau and Giusy Dinardo for the pictorial part, and Jean-Pascal Viala and Luc Hurter for the support; it will return to exhibition in the fall of 2026.

During 2026, the Small Cabinets to the south (rooms 730-734) will also be renovated to house small- and medium-format Spanish and Portuguese paintings dating from the 14th to 19th centuries.

Louvre, renovated and refurbished galleries devoted to Italian and Spanish paintings of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries

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