Atelier des Lumières

Why to visit Atelier des Lumieres in Paris?

The Digital Art Centre is one of the latest Parisian attractions, which started in 2018. In a few years, l’Ateliers des Lumières has become an unmissable touristic spot of Paris. It is so emblematic of Paris that the TV series “Emily in Paris” had a scene shot there in the first season!

The venue where this Digital Art Centre is located was founded in 1835 by the Plichon brothers and used to be a foundry manufacturing high-quality iron parts. Thanks to its monumental architecture, highlighted by the original metal structure that spans the great hall, the former iron foundry provides the ideal setting for these digital experiments. After massive renovations, the 3,000 square meters building is hosting new exhibitions every year, to experience artistic work in a new and unique way.

The digital artworks are projected on all the surfaces of the hall and invite the viewers for a journey in the world of arts. At Atelier des Lumières, you can use all your senses during that experience and enjoy a unique playlist matching the exhibition: the curators add music to their creations, to create a musical dialog with works of art. It is also a very pedagogical way to make children discover and enjoy artistic masterpieces.

 As an O'bon Paris reader, you can enjoy a 10% discount promo code: check it here.

Dive into the journey of Marc Chagall's masterpieces

Marc Chagall (1887-1985), one of the best artists of the 20th century with Picasso, is a French painter born in Russia. He is regarded as a pioneer of modern art with a style that borrowed from fauvism, expressionism, and cubism. He composed his works based on emotional and poetic associations, rather than on rules of pictorial logic. 

“If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing.” The theme of his works was the love of eternity, beyond the law of gravity on earth. Chagall was a romantic person full of love. One of the biggest values in his oeuvres was also love, especially his lover, Bella Rosenfeld. His paintings are very dreamy, unorganized, and seem to be even psychedelic, having the contrast of the colors and the surrealistic composition, such as the arrangement of characters like flying against gravity; for example, his work <Lovers>, <Walk>. Those whimsical figurative elements, therefore, even make effects that resemble a film montage sometimes. However, it actually shows his romanticism in his way of thinking. He used this kind of composition to express the happiness of love, because he was so in love with his lover, Bella, who even made him feel like flying above Paris' sky.

This exhibition particularly highlights the painter's love, love toward life, colors, people, nature, memories, dreams, art, sky and night, his village, houses, his parents, and even composition and form. This spectacular room of images will be interspersed with classical music, klezmer, or jazz.

This exhibition's title is called 'Chagall, Paris - New York'. Paris and New York, the representative capitals of modern art, represent two crucial stages in Chagall's whole career. Paris was the city he chose, and thanks to the avant-garde movements of the 1910s, it provided this young Russian painter with a stage of experimental work, which he enriched with his own cultural references. And New York was primarily a spot of exile during the 1940s, however, the city gave the painter’s creativity a fresh impetus. 

The exhibition "Chagall, Paris - New York" lasts for about 40 minutes. 

DISCOVER PAUL KLEE AT ATELIERS DES LUMIERES

After the remarkable Chagall exhibition, next is the short program (10 minutes) called "Painting music" based on works of the artist Paul Klee (1879 - 1940). This Swiss-born German artist highly influenced movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism.

The immersive exhibition is invaded by the artist’s colorful and poetic works. Paul Klee was initially a musician: a pianist, violinist, and even a professional singer, he was actually a talented violinist. In his whole life, therefore, his works were impacted by music, which was a part of his creative process. In this short program, you can Klee’s fascination with the opera, The Magic Flute by Mozart.

The exhibition is attributed to Klee’s two passions and highlights the pictorial range of his works, which comprise a large variety of techniques and are highly imaginative. He was born to be a draftsman, and through long experimentation developed a mastery of color and tonality. He used many color palettes from nearly monochromatic to highly polychromatic. The fact that he interpreted new art trends in his own way is why he is still loved by all generations and artists. You will surely fall in love with his work if you visit this exhibition.

When and how to visit Atelier des Lumières?

Atelier des Lumières is open all year long, except in January / February when the exhibition theme changes. The theme is renewed every year, and each exhibition lasts all year long. The visit lasts for 1 hour: even though you book usually for a specific time slot, you can enter pretty anytime and stay as long as you want. Indeed the exhibition is continuously displayed, so you might arrive during the Cezanne part or Kandinsky part. But you can stay as much as you want to enjoy different perspectives of the exhibition. Feel free to sit, walk, stand up and enjoy the different places of the building: each viewpoint will give you a specific experience and atmosphere.

You can either book your ticket in advance through the Atelier des Lumières official website or buy it at the ticket office upon your arrival. Please note that the ticket office closes at 16:00 Monday to Friday, so if you plan to buy the ticket at the ticket office, we recommend that you arrive early. The ticket office is closed on Saturday and Sunday, therefore, you can only visit the exhibition on weekends by purchasing your ticket online. Also in order to avoid the queue, book your ticket online. If you want to avoid the crowds, visit around 12:00-14:00 during weekdays, so you can absorb the artistic atmosphere as much as you can without being surrounded by loads of other tourists. 

Admission Fee: Adult 16,00€ / Student 13,00€ / Between 5-25 years old 11,00€ / Free for children under 5 years old / More than 65 years old 15,00€

By downloading the O'bon Paris discount coupon you will be able to get a 10% discount via a discount code while booking the ticket directly via Atelier des Lumières official website.