Yet another blockbuster exhibition opens in Paris, and it’s going to be huge – the Louvre has been preparing this Leonardo da Vinci retrospective for over ten years!

And for the first time, “to ensure optimal visiting conditions”, you have to buy your ticket in advance…

Coinciding with the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death, the Louvre has organised a vast exhibition about the man and his work, presented chronologically.

The museum actually has four paintings by da Vinci musée, three of which are brought together for the exhibition (the Mona Lisa is staying in her usual room, which has just reopened after being renovated over ten months). You might be surprised to learn that da Vinci only did twenty paintings during his life, and ten of them are part of the exhibitions.

More a retrospective than a simple exhibition, with over 160 pieces on show (some lent by celebrities like Bill Gates and the Queen of England), you’ll have a comprehensive overview of da Vinci’s career.

Linked with the exhibition, you might be interested by:

— six conferences (like Leonardo da Vinci and his unfinished works, or Leonardo da Vinci, between art and science…),

— two concerts on 15th & 21st November by the Ensemble Doulce Mémoire and Ensemble Sollazzo,

— showings of three documentaries lasting just under an hour, each looking at a different aspect of da Vinci,

— a virtual reality experience called Mona Lisa: Beyond the Glass, allowing you to interact with the world-famous painting,

— and in the neighbouring Jardin des Tuileries, “the gardeners have created different flower bed arrangements evoking the serenity and tenderness that emanate from the artist’s masterpieces.” 😳

A catalogue of the exhibition is also available (480 pages, 380 illustrations, 35€ here at amazon.fr).

The Leonardo da Vinci exhibition is at the Louvre (here) until 24th February 2020

Don’t forget to book your ticket in advance here

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

#ExpoLeonard

View this post on Instagram

. 🇫🇷 Mercredi, c’est #HistoireDuLouvre ! Avez-vous déjà gravi les marches de l’Escalier du Ministre ? – 👀 Les bâtiments de l’aile nord du « Nouveau Louvre » de Napoléon III, construits par l’architecte Hector Lefuel de 1854 à 1857, étaient en partie destinés au ministère d’Etat. Pour desservir les appartements privés du ministre, Lefuel conçoit un escalier d’honneur dont la décoration, commencée en 1857, s’achève en 1861. – ⛏ Cinq sculpteurs et un peintre y participent. Jean-Baptiste Révillon réalise les reliefs du rez-de-chaussée, ainsi que la tête de femme entourée d’un cartouche au centre de l’escalier. Jean-Pierre Hurpin et Marie-Etienne Cousseau sculptent les frontons des portes et les décors des pilastres, alors que leurs modèles pour le plafond sont traduits dans la pierre par Jean Crapoix. Enfin, le majestueux lustre ornant le haut de l’escalier est élaboré par le sculpteur Morand. – 🖼 En 1861, Charles-François Daubigny y peint deux paysages, « Le Palais et le Jardin des Tuileries », et « Le Pavillon de Flore », achevant ainsi le décor de l’Escalier du Ministre. – – – – 🌎 Wednesday it’s #LouvreHistory! Have you ever climbed the “Escalier du Ministre”? – 👀 The building comprising the north wing of Napoleon III’s « Nouveau Louvre », built by the architect Hector Lefuel between 1854 and 1857, were partly intended for the Ministry of State. Lefuel designed a staircase leading up to the minister’s private apartment, which was decorated by five sculptors and a painter between 1857 and 1861. – ⛏Jean-Baptiste Révillon sculpted the reliefs on the ground floor and the head of the woman set in a cartouche in the middle of the staircase. Jean-Pierre Hurpin and Marie-Etienne Cousseau sculpted the door pediments and pilaster decoration, and their models for the ceiling were sculpted in stone by Jean Crapoix. Finally, the majestic chandelier at the top of the stairs was created by the sculptor Morand. In 1861, the painter Charles-François Daubigny completed the staircase’s decoration with two landscapes, The Tuileries Palace and Gardens and The Flore Pavilion. – 📷 © Musée du Louvre / Maëlys Feunteun . . . #Louvre #MuséeDuLouvre

A post shared by Musée du Louvre (@museelouvre) on Oct 23, 2019 at 10:02am PDT

Pour consulter le dossier de presse complet, cliquez simplement sur le bouton ‘plein écran’ en bas à droite de l’image ci-dessous.