Decades-Long Feud Over Paris Opera Ceiling Painting Shows No Signs of Ending

More than 60 years after it was redone, the feud over the Paris Opera's ceiling isn't over

In 1960, French Culture Minister André Malraux commissioned a painting from artist Marc Chagall to modernize the ceiling of the Opéra Garnier, thereby concealing the 19th-century work of Jules-Eugène Lenepveu. The controversial decision reflected a battle between two visions of cultural heritage, and today, one of Lenepveu's descendants is determined to restore his ancestor's creation.