William Kentridge at the Louvre

Art Daily

With photo.

Scheduled to coincide with the monographic retrospective devoted to the artist at the Jeu de Paume, drawings by William Kentridge will be presented in the Salle d’Actualité of the Department of Graphic Arts, alongside a selection of drawings from the Louvre’s collections. Drawings were made for a series of films - conceived especially for the museum - on view in room 26 of the Department of Egyptian Antiquities. Original music for the films was composed by Philip Miller.

Ancient Egypt is a theme that first appeared in Kentridge’s work in 2004, in preparation for his staging of Mozart’s comic opera, The Magic Flute. His fanciful conception is illuminated by projections of the artist’s own animated black-and-white films. Kentridge’s focus moves successively from exotic landscapes on the banks of the Nile to temple ruins and obelisks. The figure of the falcon deity Horus stands in for the artist, appearing and then disappearing, under the magical sway of the draftsman’s art. This production had its first premiere in Brussels in 2005. The invitation extended by the Louvre provides an opportunity for the artist to re-explore the world of ancient Egypt, but also to delve into the Napoleonic campaigns of the late eighteenth century.