At the Louvre Museum, a tactile gallery encourages people to touch the statues to become familiar with art

In a museum, keeping your distance from the works is the rule… Except at the Louvre, in the Sculpture Discovery Space, a reinvention of the Touch Gallery created in 1995. Here, feeling the statues is essential. “Sometimes, visitors don’t dare to touch, we had to add pictograms to encourage them to do so! » smiles Sophie Hervet, head of the graphic and digital mediation department. Through this sensoriality, the sculpture is discovered differently and opens up to people with disabilities.

The place is resolutely inclusive with sound devices, Braille labels, sign language translation and easy-to-understand texts. Running their fingers over the bronze, terracotta, marble or wood casts allows children to become familiar with the sculpture, its tools and its materials. Here, you feel in a cocoon, away from the hustle and bustle of the exhibition halls. Visitors have fun stroking the curls of Louis XIV’s hair or the nose of Napoleon’s death mask. “A blind woman nicely told me: ‘It’s a beautiful place to touch,’” says Sophie Hervet.

Since the opening of this space in September 2023, the plaster has deepened and the patina of the bronzes has changed color. Wear that proves the success of the concept. And which remind us why it is important to watch your hands in museums: every year, statues lose fingers or their noses due to the negligence of visitors. This space also serves this purpose: learning to respect the works.