Several museums reopen across Europe
In the Netherlands, the intimate gaze of the “Girl with the Pearl Earring” can once again startle and entice visitors. Down in Spain, the rusty maze of steel sheets by Richard Serra is a wonderland anew for art lovers. And at the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam” can drop jaws like it has done for ages.
As Europe slowly emerges from the coronavirus pandemic that has killed well over 150,000 in the continent and crippled some of the world’s biggest economies, Monday let a brilliant ray shine through the gloom as several of the top museums globally reopened to flaunt their riches.
All of the Netherlands rejoiced in a relaxing of the lockdown measures that have kept people away from bars, restaurants, cinemas — as well as some of the greatest cultural institutions in the world.
Across the continent, museum officials rejoiced as visitors were let in again. “Today is a day to celebrate, a day of great joy, said director Barbara Jatta, as her Vatican Museums reopened on Monday.
Some 1,600 people reserved tickets in advance to see the Sistine Chapel and its sublime walls and ceilings on the first day the Vatican Museums opened to the public after a three-month coronavirus shutdown. At the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, the price of one ticket bought this month will include a three-month museum membership.
In Paris, the Musée d’Orsay will open from June 23 and the Louvre, home of the “Mona Lisa” — perhaps the strongest rival to “Girl with the Pearl Earring” — will welcome visitors again on July 6.