Ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Louvre Museum has announced a new exhibition delving into the rich history of the Olympics. “Olympism: Modern Invention, Ancient Legacy” opens April 24, and will follow the founding of the Games, and show the influence of ancient Greece on them.
With a keen focus on the genesis of the modern Olympic Games, the exhibition aims to shed light on France’s pivotal role in their establishment, particularly in Paris. “Many may know Pierre de Coubertin as the father of the modern Olympics, but “Olympism” will also spotlight lesser-known figures, like Dimitrios Vikelas, Michel Bréal and Spyridon Lambros.
According to townandcountrymag.com, a centerpiece of the exhibition is “Bréal’s Cup,” the inaugural Olympic Cup crafted by French scholar Michel Bréal and awarded to the victor of the first marathon. The cup is on a special loan from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.
Other items on display will include ephemera from the first Olympic games, held in Athens in 1896. According to the museum, “as part of the programme of cultural events accompanying the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, the exhibition will show how, in the name of sport, the disciplines of philology, history, art history and archaeology came together to create this global sporting event.”
“Olympism” is curated by Alexandre Farnoux, Professor of Greek Archaeology and Art History at Sorbonne University; Violaine Jeammet, Senior Curator in the Department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities, Musée du Louvre; and Christina Mitsopoulou, Archaeologist at the University of Thessaly, French School at Athens.
Source: townandcountrymag.com
