The Exhibitions Defining April

LENS, FRANCE

BEYOND THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS

At the Louvre’s annex in Lens, France, the exhibition Beyond The Thousand and One Nights: History of Orientalism celebrates—through three hundred masterpieces—the cultural journey that leads us from Paris to Isfahan, from the Alhambra to Cairo, and from Constantinople to Venice and Algiers. The book The Thousand and One Nights, first printed in Arabic and in Europe in the eighteenth century, serves as the starting point for a chromatic epic, punctuated by extraordinary objects drawn notably from the Louvre Museum’s Department of Islamic Art. Providing a modern-day counterpoint are works by artists who have come to revisit this rich heritage. Color makes a majestic entrance, appearing as vividly in a Matisse odalisque as it does in a Persian medallion carpet. Gold in particular radiates throughout the exhibition, gleaming from objects ranging from a reliquary to a Mamluk horse harness. Here, one learns that light comes from the East.

Beyond The Thousand and One Nights: History of Orientalism (Par-Delà les Mille et Une Nuits : Histoire des Orientalismes)

On view until July 20, 2026 | louvrelens.fr

There are many cultural exhibitions to see, but fewer that truly resonate and touch the heart and soul.

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