Row over Paris opera house ceiling reignites with lawsuit threat
A descendant of 19th-century artist Jules-Eugène Lenepveu is threatening legal action to uncover the original ceiling of the Paris opera house. The ceiling is currently covered by canvases painted by Marc Chagall in the 1960s.
Why it matters
This case highlights the ongoing tension between preserving historical artistic heritage and respecting later, culturally significant artistic interventions.
The original ceiling at the Paris opera house was painted by Jules-Eugène Lenepveu. Photograph: Amis de Lenepveu J Moatti The original ceiling at the Paris opera house was painted by Jules-Eugène Lenepveu. Photograph: Amis de Lenepveu J Moatti Paris Row over Paris opera house ceiling reignites with lawsuit threat Descendant of 19-century artist demands removal of Marc Chagall’s 1960s canvases that cover original fresco
Prefer the Guardian on Google In 1962, the then French culture minister, André Malraux, reportedly bored by the ballet he was watching at Paris’s opera house, raised his eyes to the classical ceiling and determined it needed a makeover.
In his ennui, Malraux decided his friend and artist Marc Chagall , sitting next to him at the Palais Garnier at the time, was the man for the job and commissioned him to make a new ceiling.
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