Auguste Bartholdi. The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World

Musée d'Orsay, Esplanade Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

Free

1) From September 15, 2026 to January 31, 2027, the Orsay Museum is dedicating an exhibition as well as a virtual reality immersive experience to Auguste Bartholdi, a major figure in 19th-century French sculpture and author of emblematic works, including his masterpiece 'The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World'. 2) Conceived as a gift from France to the United States and initially intended to commemorate the centennial of American independence in 1876, the statue was ultimately inaugurated ten years later, in 1886. In the meantime, Bartholdi and his supporters had to demonstrate imaginat…