The Louvre Museum proposes a major exhibition as part of the restoration of St. Anne by Leonardo da Vinci.
Leonardo’s masterwork The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, restored with the aid of the C2RMF (Centre for Research and Restoration of the Museums of France), is the centrepiece of the exhibition that will open on the 29th of March and run until the 25th of June.
Leonardo started working on this masterpiece in 1501 and continued to perfect it up until his death in 1519, leaving it unfinished.
Saint Anne, the Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus – three generations, two the fruit of immaculate conception – are portrayed in a landscape. The composition is a fine example of his experimentation with figure composition and inspired artists of the following generation.
The show brings together 130 drawings, preparatory studies by the master, earlier versions of the work by his workshop, writings referring to the Saint Anne and works influenced by it - including by Raphael or Michelangelo and more recent ones by Eugène Delacroix, Edgar Degas and Max Ernst.
Other Leonardo’s painting are also part of the exhibition and have been included to show how the Saint Anne is the true culmination of the artist’s several and varied explorations on nature and art.
The exhibition also include the unusual copy of “La Gioconda” recently discovered by Spain’s Museo del Prado hidden beneath black overpaint.
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Practical information
From March 29 to June 25, 2012
Location:
Napoleon Hall, beneath the Pyramid
Admission:
Ticket for the exhibition: €11.
Combined ticket (permanent collections and exhibition): €14.
Open everyday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., except Tuesday.
Night opening until 9:45 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays, until 8 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
Further information:
+33 (0)1 40 20 53 17
