The Musée d'Orsay in Paris is celebrating the 140th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty and the 250th anniversary of the United States' independence with an exhibition dedicated to Auguste Bartholdi, the French sculptor who designed the iconic monument. The exhibition, titled "Auguste Bartholdi. La Liberté éclairant le monde," explores the history of the statue and its creator, combining historical documents with a virtual reality experience that immerses visitors in the construction of the statue. This marks the first time in 40 years that a major national museum has focused on Bartholdi's life and work. The virtual reality component offers a 35-minute journey back to the time when Bartholdi was working on what he called the "eighth wonder of the world." Visitors can experience a recreated dinner at the home of Edouard de Laboulaye, a Frenchman who inspired the statue's creation, and meet Gustave Eiffel, the engineer who designed the statue's internal structure, and Joseph Pulitzer, the journalist who helped raise funds for the project. The experience also allows visitors to interact with people from Paris and New York who were present during the statue's construction. In addition to the virtual reality experience, the exhibition includes a more traditional display accessible to all visitors. One highlight is a sculpture showing Bartholdi leaning against a smaller version of the Statue of Liberty, meant to remind visitors of the sculptor himself, whose fame is often overshadowed by the monument he created. As the exhibition's entrance states, Bartholdi's name is "relegated to the shadows" despite the fame of his work. Juliette Chevée, the exhibition's curator and director of the Bartholdi Museum in Colmar, France, noted that this is the first major exhibition on Bartholdi in four decades. The exhibition features 70 works loaned from the Bartholdi Museum, including photographs, posters, and other historical materials that illustrate the challenges of financing the statue and its pedestal across the Atlantic. The exhibition will remain open until the end of January 2027. Later in 2024, the Musée des Arts et Métiers will host an exhibition focusing on the production of the Statue of Liberty in the Gaget workshops, using video and 3D technology.