A Key to the Louvre: Memoirs of a Curator

One of the finest minds I have ever encountered, a Noble prize winner said to me one day, "If you could live not one life over, but three lives, what lives would you live." It's interesting because most of my time is spent with an involvement with Wall Street and international finance, but my passion is art and learning. I couldn't put this book down. I read every page, cover to cover, while on a business trip to Texas. Art is timeless, and makes us aware of the all too short a period that represents our own time on earth. The author Michel Laclotte has spent his entire life in the art world, moving through various positions in his native France and finishing up as Director of the world's most important art museum - The Louvre. If you read this book, you will gain an understanding of the art world that simply cannot be obtained any other way, unless like the opening sentence of my review states, you are able to live your own life over in the art world. The author takes us on a journey of what it's like to run a museum with the outsized egos that are involved. What's it like to bid on paintings, and pay $50 million or a $100 million for an object that you can hold in your hand? Laclotte was instrumental in both the reshaping of the Louvre utilizing the skills of world-renowned architect I.M Pei, and the building of the Musee d'Orsay, which was done under the direct guidance of the author. There is a religious saying that says that "nothing is owned, everything is borrowed, and we are merely the custodians." This is certainly true of great art objects that have passed down through the ages, and Laclotte speaks with a poetical beauty through his words about the objects that he has been the custodian of, for his entire lifetime. There is an appreciation that is gained by reading this book for all that has come before us. A lady I know is reputed to have the highest IQ of anyone on the planet. One day she told me that she doesn't read books anymore because they are merely the author's subjective opinion regardless of topic. Instead she said she uses her time to go to museums, because there she is directly in touch with TRUTH. She doesn't need anyone to explain what she is looking at. She lets here own brain do the work. When you read Laclotte's book, you will have an understanding what she means. The lives of the great artists, the works they created, thousands of years of art history, it's all here. It's in a tightly woven tale about one man's commitment to art, and the life he lived guided by that commitment. Read this book, you will love it. Regards, Richard Stoyeck

I got this book while writing a research paper on the Louvre and found myself reading it just for fun - I am a Art History and Curatorial Studies student planning on doing this as my career so I may be biased, but It was so interesting to hear Laclotte's experiences. I love the sections where he gives his own personal reactions to experiences such as I.M. Pei's plan for the glass pyramids. So good! Anyway, fun read, interesting cultural information.