Legal Dispute Erupts Over Authorship of Paris Opera House Dome: Chagall or Lenepveu?

In 1962, French Culture Minister André Malraux, reportedly uninterested in a ballet performance at Paris’s opera house, was inspired by the classical ceiling and decided it needed renovation. Seated next to him was his friend, artist Marc Chagall. Believing Chagall was the ideal choice, Malraux commissioned him to design a new ceiling.

Over two years, Chagall discreetly crafted 24 vibrant, wedge-shaped canvases, which covered the original 19th-century ceiling by Jules-Eugène Lenepveu, now largely forgotten. Decades after Chagall’s death, a descendant of Lenepveu, Arnaud Carayon, is considering legal action to restore and reveal the original ceiling.

Carayon, who has petitioned for this restoration for three years, including sending two letters to President Emmanuel Macron, has now engaged a lawyer to pursue the matter in court. "The Lenepveu ceiling, classified as a historic monument, hasn't been seen for 60 years, and its condition is unknown," Carayon noted. He lamented that Lenepveu, once a celebrated artist, has been overshadowed by the rise of impressionism, despite being specifically chosen by Charles Garnier to design the original opera ceiling.

Garnier’s opera house, commissioned by Napoleon III, opened in January 1875, attended by European dignitaries including London's then Lord Mayor, Sir William Cotton. Lenepveu, Garnier’s friend and collaborator, created "The Muses and the Hours of Day and Night," an oil painting on copper plates, reflecting the Second Empire style of Garnier’s design, and received historical protection in 1923.

Malraux aimed to modernize the opera house with Chagall’s 24 canvases, covering 220 square meters of the dome, featuring vibrant colors and depictions of dancers, angels, musicians, and composers’ names. Chagall's installation sparked a debate between traditionalists and modernists, with the Royal Institute of British Architects in London urging Malraux to retain the original ceiling, citing the opera house's unique harmony. Their request was disregarded.

The Palais Garnier will undergo renovation from 2027 to 2032. Carayon, head of the Friends of Lenepveu Society, suggested to Macron the idea of alternating between the Lenepveu and Chagall ceilings, each displayed for a decade. He was informed that the president was "particularly attentive" to the issue. Carayon emphasized that Chagall’s ceiling was meant to be removable without damage, expressing hope that the idea of alternating ceilings would be realized.

At a 2023-24 Chagall exhibition at the Pompidou Centre, curator Anne Montfort-Tanguy described Chagall’s ceiling as his autobiography and a tribute to Paris, featuring elements like the Eiffel Tower. She viewed it as a fluid, cinematic work, embodying Chagall’s homage to France and Paris.