The Saint Anne at the Louvre

On the occasion of the restoration of "The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne," Leonardo da Vinci's portrayal of St. Anne with her daughter and grandson, the Louvre Museum hosted a major exhibition around this masterpiece, one of his most famous works after the Mona Lisa

For the first time, Leonardo's masterpiece, in process for years and left unfinished upon his death in 1519, was exhibited along with his compositional sketches, preparatory drawings, landscape studies, and the National Gallery of London’s Burlington House Cartoon, a magnificent full-size preparatory study of The Virgin and Child with St Anne and St John the Baptist. Related works by other artists, as well as other painted artworks by da Vinci were also used to show how the Saint Anne is the true culmination of the artist’s numerous and varied explorations on nature and art.

We also took time to visit the Napoleon III apartments, and small and large dining rooms, which offer an exceptional record of Second Empire decorative art and which we had not been able to see in previous visits to the Louvre.

Afterwards, a nice coffee at Café Marly, a contemporary brasserie located under the arcades of the Richelieu wing, decorated in Second Empire style.