Asterix is 50 years old, and to celebrate the event in proper style – in the recently-restored frigidarium of the Cluny Museum in Paris, which is the sole gallo-roman elevated monument north of the Loire – around thirty original drawings are being shown, including the sketches that were used to prepare them. It’s an exclusive, for the first time in France!

These drawings, old or recent, show the talent of Uderzo, who together with the creative genius of Goscinny brought Asterix to life. It’s the perfect occasion for learning how the creative process happens, from the birth of an idea to the finished product that we all know.

And what better place to show them than this ancient Lutetian building, exceptionally well preserved? Other objects, such as Goscinny’s Keyston Royal typewriter and the first edition of famed comic Pilote will also be on display, showing how the two creators of the Asterix series managed to take a fiction historical character and conquer the world!

The exhibition continues outside the museum, on the corner of boulevard Saint-Michel and boulevard Saint-Germain, on the railings that surround the garden next to the museum. Drawing from Asterix will be placed side by side with masterpieces of of Western art to which they bear a striking resemblance. Parody or source of inspiration?

The Astérix exhibition at the Musée de Cluny (here) runs from 28th October 2009 – 3rd January 2010. Open every day except Mondays from 9.15am – 5.45pm. Admission 8€/6€. Free for under 26 year-olds and for all the first Sunday of the month.
Museum site: www.musee-moyenage.fr