Auguste Bartholdi

From September 15, 2026, to January 31, 2027, the Musée d’Orsay is dedicating an exhibition and an immersive virtual reality experience to Auguste Bartholdi, a leading figure in 19th-century French sculpture and creator of iconic works, as well as to his masterpiece, “Liberty Enlightening the World.” Planned as a gift from France to the United States and initially intended to commemorate the centenary of American independence in 1876, the statue was finally inaugurated ten years later, in 1886. Between times, Bartholdi and his supporters had to show proof of imagination, audaciousness and ten…