Louvre to open hall dedicated to Russian art

The Louvre Museum in Paris will be opening a hall dedicated to Russian art in 2015 as part of wider plans to increase its current collection, which consists only of religious icons from Russia. The news follows an announcement by Henri Loyrette, director of the Louvre, in February, when he described the lack of Russian art at the gallery as “absolutely shocking”.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Loyrette said that the Byzantine department at the Louvre had plans to establish a fund to purchase artworks from auction houses for the collection but would also be borrowing pieces from other museums. The Louvre will be collaborating with the Russo-French Chamber of Commerce on ways to make more Russian art available to the public.