France: Underground Art

When frazzled Manhattan subway riders gasp and sigh, it is almost inevitably because of the cloacal stench and spine-crushing lack of charm that characterize the system. Not so in Par is, where ever since World War II the Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens has been enthusiastically refurbishing the Métro. Last week the latest renovated subway station opened, this one at the Louvre. Parisian eyes popped.

Numerous passengers narrowly escaped a fall off the platform as they stepped back to appraise a statue of King Tutankhamen. Dramatized by artfully concealed spotlights and projectors were copies of treasures from four of the Louvre’s main sections: French Medieval, Egyptian, Ancient Oriental and Greco-Roman. It was a sight to glad den any ordinary rider’s eye, and even more pleased was the man behind the-innovation. He is André Malraux, Minister of Culture, and his efforts to re furbish the famed museum itself have been nicely complemented by the un derground mini-Louvre. On a private inspection tour, he told a friend: “Art must go down into the streets, and I’m very happy to see it going even deeper, into the Métro.”