The conflict arose half a century ago when Culture Minister André Malraux commissioned Chagall for a new painting. The artist mounted 24 canvases on metal structures over the original, without damaging Leneve's historical work. As a compromise, the heirs propose changing the ceilings every ten years; however, art historians and the opera management oppose this: Chagall's painting has long become one of the main symbols of Paris and attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists.
