Michelangelo and Rodin. Living bodies

Two unparalleled masters of Western sculpture — Michelangelo and Auguste Rodin — will engage in a dialogue across the centuries in this exhibition at the musée du Louvre.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

This unprecedented encounter will highlight the influences, borrowings, and reinterpretations, as well as the continuities and ruptures, between two bodies of work that embody both the power of the human form and the depth of the soul.

The exhibition will bring together more than 200 works — including marbles, bronzes, plasters, terracottas, casts, and an extensive selection of graphic works — from the collections of the Louvre, the Rodin Museum, and major international loans. Visitors will explore five thematic sections, focusing on the two artists, their sources of inspiration, their engagement with materials, and their favored subjects, all connected by a common thread: the body and life itself.

By emphasizing the formal and conceptual concerns that drive both artists toward the same goal — making the inner energy of the body visible — the exhibition also examines their legacy: how did the reinterpretation of antiquity and the treatment of the human figure pave the way for the breakthroughs of the 20th century?

Scientific Curatorship

• Chloé Ariot, conservatrice en chef du patrimoine, musée Rodin
• Marc Bormand, conservateur général du patrimoine, département des Sculptures, musée du Louvre