Cy Twombly (1928-2011)

The squabble between the Louvre and the Cy Twombly Foundation over the renovation of the salle des bronzes, whose ceiling the artist frescoed in 2010, might be a run-in whose full flavor is only relished by Parisians and New Yorkers.

In recognition of Cy Twombly’s long relationship with the Whitney, where he held his first New York solo show in 1979, the artist’s foundation has gifted the museum $2.5 million to endow a conservator position. Thanks to the gift, Matthew Skopek will become the first Cy Twombly Conservator of Paintings.

The late painter installed a ceiling painting in the Salles des Bronzes, originally complementing the painting to the room’s neutral interior. But after the room was renovated, the Foundation said it was now incongruous with the artwork and had ‘altered’ his vision. The room will be now reverted to its neutral hue.

After the Louvre repainted the walls of the gallery whose ceiling Twombly designed, the foundation denounced damages to Twombly’s work and violations to the artist’s moral rights. A former Louvre president and a former curator are among those supporting the suit asking for the room’s restoration. (Artforum)

CBGBs, a famous punk-rock club in the East Village where Patti Smith and the Ramones once performed that closed in 2006, will host the contemporary art gallery Amanita starting tomorrow. The gallery, already present in Florence, was founded by Caio Twombly, grandson of painter Cy Twombly, and Tommaso Rositani Suckert.

The artist’s foundation claims the Louvre’s alterations to its Bronzes Room – adorned with a Twombly ceiling painting – infringe on his moral rights. Now, former Tate director Nicholas Serota has weighed in: “If this is not an ‘affront’ to one of the great painters of the twentieth century, I don’t know what would be.”

The Cy Twombly Foundation has denounced the Louvre’s alterations to its Bronzes Room, which is adorned with a huge site-specific ceiling painting by the late American artist. According to the Foundation, the changes – repainted walls and the laying of a parquet floor – represent “serious damage” to the work (Le Monde)

The controversy over altering the Louvre’s Greek and Roman Bronze Rooms erupted at the end of a building project that occupied an entire wing of the museum. La Gazette talked about the overall program with its president, Jean-Luc Martinez, and architect Michel Goutal.

The Twombly Foundation and the artist's son are attacking the refurbishment of the Louvre's bronze room at the court, with the support of Henri Loyrette, who believes that "nothing remains of what the artist wanted to create". The Louvre maintains that moral rights cannot extend to the museography of the room.

The gallery, previously renowned for its cramped and underlit conditions, will reopen at Somerset House on November 19, complete with new floors, ticketing desks, a café and shop. The collection spans centuries, countries and movements, exhibiting Botticelli, Brueghel, Rubens, Goya, Cézanne, Van Gogh, and Cy Twombly.