Art lovers visiting Tokyo this autumn will have a rare opportunity to see a masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci, with the Louvre Museum bringing its Renaissance collection to the National Art Center, Tokyo in Roppongi.
The Louvre Museum Exhibition: Renaissance runs from September 9 to December 13, 2026, and marks the first exhibition of the museum's collection in Japan in three years. The previous Louvre exhibition in 2023 attracted approximately 730,000 visitors.
More than 50 works will explore the defining characteristics of Renaissance art, which flourished in Italy before spreading throughout Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. Rather than focusing solely on the movement's origins, the exhibition looks at the period when the Renaissance style developed and became widespread.
At the heart of the exhibition is Leonardo da Vinci's Portrait of a Woman, better known as La Féronnière. One of only around 15 paintings generally considered authentic works by Leonardo, it is one of just five attributed to the artist in the Louvre's collection. It will be publicly displayed in Japan for the first time, 52 years after the Mona Lisa made its Japanese debut in 1974.
The exhibition also explores the Renaissance fascination with ancient Greek and Roman culture and the growing emphasis on realistically depicting people, nature, space, and human emotion.
For visitors to Tokyo, it's a chance to see an extraordinary piece of art history without having to travel to Paris.
