A river runs through it: Parisian officials worry that the Seine, known to flood once per century, will damage the Louvre’s treasures.

Après le Déluge

The Louvre is sending thousands of unseen works to safety in case the Seine overflows

By Adam Sage

The center was built at a cost of $51 million to contain what one expert called “the memory of humanity” — 250,000 paintings, drawings, statues and other objects from across the world and spanning nine millennia.

The works belong to the Louvre but unlike the French museum’s stars — Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo or the Winged Victory of Samothrace — they are held out of sight in storage rooms. Now, this literally priceless stored collection — the Louvre says it would be impossible to estimate its worth — is being transferred to a modern conservation center in Liévin, northern France, where it will be held for future generations.