Essentially this is an architectural lighting project: there are no plans yet in place to install LED lighting in the galleries, although the Mona Lisa painting is illuminated with a standalone, purpose-built LED light source. However, both the project and the launch ceremony make a clear statement about Toshiba’s intentions within the European lighting market. Toshiba made a high-profile debut in Europe at Light+Building in April 2010, and all the company’s lighting products in Europe are LED-based. François Séguineau, VP Europe with Toshiba Lighting Systems, said that Toshiba is now a “top-3 supplier of LED lamps in Europe.”
The partnership between Toshiba and the Louvre Museum, which will run until 2023, was first announced in July 2010. In the next phases of the project the remaining facades of the Napoleon Court will be completed in the first half of 2012, and the courtyard will follow in 2013.