Beyoncé and Jay-Z‘s music video “Apes***” has been credited with helping the Louvre reach a record number of visitors in 2018.
The Paris museum’s Delacroix show – its most popular exhibition on record – also helped draw a total of 10.2m visitors last year.
The 26 per cent rise in admissions also reflected a large upswing in foreign visitors to the French capital, according to The Art Newspaper, as part of their annual visitor figures survey.
The two musicians launched a joint album, under the name The Carters, last year. ”Apes***” was the lead single of Everything is Love and was accompanied by a six-minute video shot in the Louvre by director Ricky Saiz.
In the UK, the Tate Modern surpassed the British Museum as the most popular in the country. The Bloomsbury institution had previously held the top spot for nine years.
Meanwhile, Kensington's Victoria and Albert museum also reported a record year, with 3.9m visitors.
The two most popular exhibitions in the world in 2018 were both held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination, which mixed religious artworks with haute couture fashion, was attended by nearly 1.7m people.
Meanwhile, Michelangelo: Divine Draftsman and Designer, attracted more than 700,000 visitors.
