Marlene Dumas, one of the most influential painters working today, has become the first contemporary female artist to join the Louvre’s permanent collection.
French publication Le Monde reports that nine new paintings by the Dutch-South African artist have been hung on the ground floor of the Louvre’s Denon Wing, which overlooks the Seine River. Dumas, who is represented by David Zwirner, is celebrated for her gestural, even ghostly figures and her off-kilter color schemes, which together hint at the mystery of a stranger’s heart, let alone the hearts of those we know. The works now on view at the Louvre, from the series “Liaisons,” are in that vein: closed faces that seem to bleed between pine green, earthy brown, bright orange, and washed-out blue.
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In May, Dumas became the most expensive living female artist in the world when her 1997 painting Miss January, depicting a confident if uncanny half-nude woman, sold for $13.6 million with fees at a Christie’s evening sale.
While that was a market triumph, Dumas has commanded commercial and critical attention for decades: In 2008, she was the subject of a Museum of Modern Art retrospective, and at the 1995 Venice Biennale, she represented the Netherlands (where she’s based). Over the years, she has appeared in four Venice Biennale main exhibitions and two editions of Documenta.
“To paint is to embark on a battle, with no guarantee of success; it is to wrestle with the elements, with the paint and the canvas, to push your own body to its limits, to resist your own thoughts and preconceptions,” she told Le Monde.
The Dumas acquisitions were unveiled on Thursday, November 6, under likely less-than-ideal circumstances. Diversifying the Louvre’s art collection has been an ambition of museum president Laurence des Cars, who commissioned Dumas. But the October 19 theft of the crown jewels and subsequent revelations of widespread security system failures have put the museum’s budget priorities under intense scrutiny.
Earlier this year, the Louvre and President Emmanuel Macron unveiled plans for a major renovation of the museum, estimated at €700 million to €800 million ($815 million–$932 million).
A report published this week by France’s Court of Auditors, parts of which were leaked to the press after the heist, determined that there had been “repeated postponements of the scheduled modernization of security systems,” with cameras primarily installed “only when rooms have been refurbished.” The report also criticized the museum for failing to prioritize security enhancements despite its annual operating budget of €323 million ($376 million), adding that “the amounts committed are small compared to the estimated needs.”
Rachida Dati, the culture minister, has since stated that a portion of that budget would be dedicated to bringing the museum’s security system in line with the audit’s recommendations.
