A former palace turned museum, the Louvre is inlaid with decorations created by the greatest artists of their time. In May 2024, the painter Luc Tuymans has been invited to create a temporary work in the Valentin de Boulogne rotunda, at the junction of the “Sully” and “Richelieu” wings, in the heart of the French paintings and close to the Flemish schools. A major artist of our time, Luc Tuymans (born in 1958 in Mortsel, Belgium, and now living and working in Antwerp) has never ceased to explore new forms, while remaining true to the great tradition of painting. His work has been exhibited in the world’s leading museums. For this first project in a Paris museum, marking the return of the act of painting to the museum walls, he has created a temporary painting in situ entitled L’Orphelin (The Orphan). This four-panel work assembles three found images representing the cleaning of a palette. They embody the museum’s special role as a school for artists, a place for copying and producing works. The cleaned palette also signals a form of cruelty, it is joined by a fourth image, that of a lost work by the artist entitled The Orphan, which gives the project its title.

More information (Louvre.fr)