As they painstakingly scrape grime off a monumental painting by French artist Gustave Courbet, the restorers do a remarkable job of ignoring their unusual surroundings: they are watched by crowds of people, many recording on mobile phones.
Paris’ Orsay Museum has thrown open to the public a process that often happens behind closed doors.
The cleaning and repairs to A Burial at Ornans, one of the museum’s signature works that Courbet painted between 1849 and 1850, are taking place in a bespoke enclosure with windows for visitors to peer through.
“A great idea,” said Jennifer Dasal, a visiting art historian from the US state of North Carolina. “If it’s lasting for a while, people can come back and they can watch the restoration over time.”
