Message
We are pleased to present Masterpieces of the Renaissance from the Musée du Louvre, an exhibition made possible through the generous cooperation and support of the Musée du Louvre in Paris.
This exhibition explores some of the distinctive characteristics of Renaissance art as it flourished across Europe during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Through fifty-six works carefully selected from the Louvre’s vast collection, it sheds light on the richness and complexity of the artistic currents that characterized the period. The people of Renaissance Europe began to rediscover the value of the cultures and societies of Greco-Roman antiquity, in which human agency was accorded greater importance. As interest grew in the abilities and individuality of each person, portraiture emerged as one of the genres that flourished most remarkably in the visual arts.
The exhibition features Leonardo da Vinci’s Portrait of a Woman, also known as La Belle Ferronnière, one of the great masterpieces by Leonardo, the foremost artist of the Renaissance. This marks the first time that the painting has been exhibited in Japan. Throughout his life, Leonardo continually sought not only to portray the physical characteristics of the figures he depicted, but also to capture the complex emotions lying just beneath the surface.
To date, only around fifteen paintings can be attributed to Leonardo with certainty. Five of these are held by the Musée du Louvre. Yet it has been more than half a century since any of them last traveled to Japan. The last occasion was the exceptional loan of the Mona Lisa in 1974.
Beyond its emblematic painting, the exhibition is organized around four themes inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, a figure who epitomizes the Renaissance. It brings together a remarkably diverse range of works that illuminate the distinctive characteristics of the various artistic currents that flourished across Europe at the time, encompassing painting and sculpture as well as prints, drawings, and decorative arts.
We would like to express our profound gratitude to the Musée du Louvre for its generous loan of works from its collection to this exhibition, and in particular to its President-Director, Christophe Leribault. We are also deeply grateful to Sébastien Allard, general commissioner of the exhibition, as well as to Oriane Lavit, Aline François-Colin, Olivier Gabet, Xavier Salmon, Stéphanie Deschamps-Tan, and all the members of their respective teams. Finally, we extend our sincere thanks to Nomura Securities Co., Ltd. for its exceptional sponsorship, and to all the companies and institutions whose support, patronage, and collaboration have contributed to the realization of this exhibition.
The Organizers
