The Louvre opens an innovative new beauty-meets-art experience
Impossible as it might seem, Paris just became more beautiful, as the Louvre unveiled its latest initiative ‘De toutes beautés!’: Rituals, objects and representations of beauty, a retrospective trail through the Louvre Museum.
In collaboration with L’Oréal Groupe Art, Culture & Heritage Department, the museum has curated a “one-of-a-kind” visiting experience, whereby a collection of 108 works from across all the Louvre’s galleries have been selected for their representation of beauty – both in its roles and practices – through the ages and through different cultures.
“The idea of this unique journey is that it invites visitors to experience the Louvre's collections in a new light,” says Laurence des Cars, president and director of the Louvre Museum. Des Cars explains that the idea, “was born from a fruitful dialogue with the L'Oréal teams. Together, we designed a journey that highlights the vast diversity of beauty across eras and cultures; it’s a playful and accessible approach to the artworks that aims to share the Louvre’s heritage ever more widely and generously.”
The initiative hopes to spark a dialogue with as diverse an audience as possible about the role of beauty and appearance in society, how moods and tolerances have changed, and how that continues to evolve and transform.
For visitors, this translates to a guided route through the museum, in which the selected art works – spanning 10,000 years from pre-history to future-facing – are signposted, and can be accompanied by a specially developed app containing written and audio guides to complement the route. Visitors can, for example, hear from Ancient Egyptian princess Nefertiabet, whose beauty products were so precious that they (understandably) accompanied her to the afterlife.
“At the heart of our purpose – to create beauty that moves the world – lies the desire to also make beauty accessible to all,” explains Nicolas Hieronimus, CEO of L'Oréal Groupe. “We want to tell the story of beauty’s diverse and enduring role since the dawn of time. This is what has driven us to explore new partnership opportunities and approaches. The Louvre was the obvious choice for this partnership, given the richness and diversity of its collections and its ability to shed light on even the most contemporary of questions.”
Click here for more information on the guided route, which is available now.
You Might Also Like
