50 years after man first set foot on the moon, the Grand Palais is opening a new exhibition with over 190 pieces of art, exploring how the satellite has been an inspiration for centuries.

The moon has always inspired and influenced us. Getting there was one of man’s greatest challenges, a dream that also inspired a vast amount of artistic expression.

With paintings, sculptures, photos, videos and works specially commissioned, the exhibition shows how art over the ages has tried to express the visions and feelings that the moon inspires.

The presentation is in five parts:

— From the moon to the earth, from the real voyage to imaginary ones: the moon landing of 1969

— The moon observed: an exploration of the first views of the moon, from the first known drawing in 1609 to photos

— The three faces of the moon: in three sections, exploring the moon’s three moods: affectionate, changing or worrying

— The moon is a person: how artist have portrayed the moon in human form, both masculine and feminine

— A shared experience of beauty: a meditative walk showing the moon as a source of inspiration, close and mysterious.

The exhibition closes with The Sleeping Endymion by Canova. The highly polished finish on the statue is believed to represent the reflected light of the moon goddess…

Many events are programmed around the exhibition:

— conferences every Wednesday,

— an ‘acoustic siesta’ on 12th at 3pm, with a hi-fidelity listen to Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd, followed by a discussion helmed by Julien Bitoun, a journalist, writer and professor of Rock History at Science Po,

— free entry during Museum Night (18th May), with a modern dance show and more,

— a showing of three episodes of Space 1999 on 25th May starting at 7.30pm,

— a selection of films

— modern dance on 2nd June with Alice Zeniter and Orin Camus, plus a chat with the dancers and astrophysicist Jean-Philippe Uzan between the two shows…

The Grand Palais smartphone app (iOS / Android) has free content in French, but for the English audioguide you’ll need to pay 2.29€.

There’s also an old-school online videogame where you can win free tickets to the exhibition, with a special big prize for the highest score.

And of course, the catalogue of the exhibition is available too (256 pages, 260 illustrations, 45€).

The exhibition The Moon is at the Grand Palais (here) from 3rd April – 22nd July 2019

Closed Tuesdays. Open Wednesdays 10am-10pm, and Thursday to Monday from 10am-8pm

Admission: 14 € / 10€

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