In the Arts: Louvre Turns to Public in Bid to Buy 16th-Century Work

For the first time in its history, France’s Louvre museum is seeking donations to help it buy a specific work of art, says the British newspaper The Guardian.

The world’s most-visited art museum turned to the public after raising only three-quarters of the approximately $5.4-million price tag set by the private owner of “Les Trois Grâces,” by Lucas Cranach the Elder.

The small work, dating to 1531 and never publicly exhibited, could become one of the Louvre’s signature holdings if acquired, said Henri Loyrette, the museum’s president.

In other arts news, leaders of the Louisville Orchestra’s musicians’ union said management is threatening bankruptcy if players block proposed cutbacks, writes The Courier-Journal.

Musicians were told in talks Monday that the Kentucky orchestra might not be able to pay them any longer unless they agreed to reduce the ensemble from 71 players to 55 and cut their working year from 37 to 31 weeks, according to the union’s lead negotiator.

Robert Birman, the orchestra’s chief executive, said the musicians’ account was inaccurate and violated a pledge not to conduct contract talks in public.

And the Atlanta Ballet, which eliminated live accompaniment in 2006 amid mounting red ink, will bring back musicians for its holiday “Nutcracker” and other performances over the next three years thanks to an undisclosed donation, reports The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.