The Louvre’s Winged Victory Removed for Restoration

Planning a trip to the Louvre? You could spend days exploring the world’s most visited museum, and the new Islamic Arts Wing—beautifully designed by Mario Bellini and Rudy Ricciotti—is worth a trip alone. Many visitors make a beeline for the “big” masterpieces, the museum’s “three great ladies”: Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, and Venus de Milo. So here’s an important piece of info: the 18-foot sculpture called Winged Victory of Samothrace will be removed for nine months of restoration work. Commanding a prime position in the Louvre, perched at the top of the staircase leading to the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory dates from the 2nd century B.C. and depicts the Greek goddess of victory, Nike. As reported by the Associated Press, the armless statue will undergo “structural work and a meticulous cleaning to restore the original hues to its marble over the next nine months.” The $5.27 million project is expected to be completed in June.

The Louvre made headlines last year for debuting state-of-the-art Nintendo consoles to replace the traditional audio guides. And in December, the Louvre debuted its first satellite museum in the northern industrial town of Lens.