New rare icons evacuated from Ukraine displayed for the first time in France

In May 2023, France's Louvre Museum and Kyiv's Khanenko Museum carried out a secret operation to safeguard Ukraine’s heritage.

Transcript

00:00It's the first time these precious works of art are showcased to the public in France.

00:07Four extremely rare icons from Ukraine are currently on display at the Louvre-Lens Museum,

00:14200 kilometers north of Paris.

00:16They include a 15th century depiction of the Virgin and Child,

00:21a 16th century icon of Saint John the Baptist,

00:26and two unusually large icons representing the Last Judgment

00:31and the hymn to the Virgin by Greek Renaissance painter Theodoros Poulakis.

00:36Preserving these masterpieces is no easy feat.

00:55In May 2023, 16 icons were secretly evacuated from the Hanenko Museum in Kiev

01:14to protect them from Russian strikes,

01:17a highly sensitive and perilous operation conducted by the Louvre Museum.

01:25The conditions of a country under martial law,

01:29security and discretion are essential.

01:34We were asked to invent ways of working that are a little different from the ones we are used to.

01:43The icons left Ukraine secretly, by land.

01:48They were accompanied by all the necessary security equipment.

01:54They crossed the border, through Poland and then Germany,

01:58and arrived in Paris to be housed in our reserves.

02:02The icons will remain in France until the end of the war.

02:05The exhibition is open to the general public until June 2025.