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SHOW #1
The Louvre
Home to the Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Caravaggio's Death of the Virgin, the Louvre Museum houses one of the largest art collections on earth. Monita Rajpal meets with museum director Henri Leyrotte to see the unveiling of the newly restored Venus de Milo. icon gains access to the craftsmen charged with the responsibility of maintaining some of the world's greatest masterpieces. Plus we highlight how the Louvre experts' preservation skills are actively saving art from extinction, as we meet the antiquities team assigned to rebuild Haiti's main cathedral following this year's devastating earthquake.
We uncover the influence Arabian art has had on European culture. The Road to Arabia, a 40-year research and archaeological project is the latest show to be open at the Louvre. icon will join members of the Royal House of Saud and French President Nicolas Sarkozy for the inaugural unveiling of this exhibit.
Plus, Pei's Pyramids, situated in the courtyard entrance to the Louvre, were once reviled and criticized but have won over many of their detractors to become one of the city's most notable landmarks and a work of art in themselves. In an exclusive interview, the 93-year-old Pritzker Prize-winning archiect IM Pei returns to Paris to talk to icon's Monita Rajpal about inspiration and fearless design.
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