Lascaux IV

An artistic exploration, from cave to modern art

The World Heritage Site of Lascaux features a new, state-of-the-art facsimile of the paleolithic painted cave. The real Lascaux cave closed in 1963, but the facsimile replicates not only the paintings, drawings and engravings, but the acoustic, and environmental conditions. Buried underground, the facsimile offers a visit as authentic as it is possible to make.

Within a series of interpretive galleries, visitors further interrogate the art, techniques and the prehistoric context. Each gallery houses an immersive, interactive exhibition.

The gallery of Imagination offers an artistic exploration, from cave to modern art. A digital cave composed of 90 screens featuring artworks from major artists such as Miró, Tapies or Picasso create an immersive exhibition. Jean-Paul Jouary, philosopher and curator, selected works echoing Lascaux by their techniques, themes, iconography or directly inspired by Lascaux to reveal connections between parietal and modern artworks.

Using one of the six interactive stations, visitors can curate their own exhibition, selecting and combining images, helped by an algorithm highlighting connections between artists or artworks. When the selection is complete, the images start flying out of the station to take over the screens around, offering a new interpretation to other visitors.