virgil abloh pays homage to leonardo da vinci with musée du louvre capsule collection

in tribute to leonardo da vinci’s passing 500 years ago in france, musée du louvre and off-white c/o virgil abloh announce the release of a capsule of clothing to celebrate the life and legendary works of the renaissance artist. coinciding with the current ‘leonardo da vinci’ exhibition — on view at the louvre until february 24, 2020 — the collection will be available online and inside the louvre gift shop until the exhibit’s closing.

all images by off-white, shot inside the grande galerie of musée du louvre

‘I was fascinated with da vinci early on – I was in my senior year at wisconsin, taking an art class,’ recalls virgil abloh, founder and artistic director of off-white. ‘I was super interested not only by his artworks but also by the influence he had in many disciplines besides art: science, engineering, architecture… to me, he symbolizes everything the renaissance was.’

printed on t-shirts and hoodies, the graphic illustrations intertwine da vinci’s paintings with off-white’s trademark logos, such as the diamond arrows and captions. among the featured works are da vinci’s virgin and child with saint john the baptist and an angel, known as the virgin of the rocks, and saint anne, the virgin mary, and the infant jesus playing with a lamb, known as saint anne, woven with the master’s iconic drawings.

‘I want to crash together these two worlds that are seemingly different: fashion and high art,’ adds virgil abloh. ‘it’s a crucial part of my overall body of work to prove that any place, no matter how exclusive it seems, is accessible to everyone. that you can be interested in expressing yourself through more than one practice and that creativity does not have to be tied to just one discipline. I think that leonardo da vinci was maybe the first artist to live by that principle, and I am trying to as well.’

‘the louvre has always been a place of life, of inspiration for the creators of each era. we are thrilled that virgil abloh’s eye on the palace and the collections of the louvre are at the heart of this multitalented artist’s creative process.’ comments adel ziane, director of external relations, musée du louvre. ‘collaborating with off-white is also a way for us to reach a new audience, a new manner to interest them in the louvre’.

the louvre holds the largest collection in the world of da vinci’s paintings, alongside 22 drawings. back in the eighth century, the museum was once known as the palace of the louvre — the former residency for kings of france. it wasn’t until 1793 when the palace became a universal museum with over 35,000 artworks over eight curatorial departments. today, the louvre is the world’s most visited museum, welcoming over 10.2 million visitors in 2018.