A Louvre Treasure: Awakening Apollo

Behind the scenes of a restoration at the Louvre museum.

In the heart of the Louvre Museum, the Apollo Gallery offers a dazzling display of rich tapestries, monumental paintings, gilded ornamentation, and even the French crown jewels. Dedicated to the Sun King, Louis XIV, nearly 350 years ago, the gallery contains two centuries of French art from Charles Le Brun to Eugene Delacroix.

Over time, water damage had ruined parts of the vaulted ceiling and years of grime had dulled the magnificent paintings. In 2002, a team of 60 specialists, architects, conservationists, and carpenters embarked on a monumental three-year restoration, which returned the Apollo Gallery to its former splendor. In A Louvre Treasure: Awakening Apollo, documentary filmmaker Jerome Prieur (Origin of Christianity) chronicles the hard work and unique skills of the dedicated restoration experts who brought Apollo back to life. Along the way, tantalizing highlights from the 800-year history of the Louvre offer a "portrait" of the world’s most famous museum.