The Musée du Louvre in Paris has officially acquired its first-ever video artwork, marking a significant step into contemporary media for the historic institution. The piece, titled Les 4 temps (The 4 Seasons), was created by Algeria-born artist Mohamed Bourouissa and offers a year-long visual study of the adjacent Tuileries Gardens.
Key Takeaways
- The Musée du Louvre has acquired Les 4 temps, its first video work, by artist Mohamed Bourouissa.
- The artwork is a video portrait of the Tuileries Gardens, which are institutionally linked to the museum.
- The project originated as a year-long series of 52 weekly videos posted on the Louvre's Instagram channel from February 2024 to February 2025.
- The final artwork includes a unique musical score composed by Bourouissa using the recorded vibrations of plants from the garden.
- The piece will be exhibited in the Salle de la Chapelle from October 22, 2024, to January 19, 2026.
A Landmark Acquisition for a Classical Institution
The Musée du Louvre, globally recognized for its collection of classical and ancient masterpieces, has made a decisive move into the 21st century by adding a video installation to its permanent collection. This acquisition signals a new direction for the museum's programming and collection strategy, embracing digital media alongside its traditional holdings.
The chosen work, Les 4 temps, focuses on a subject intimately connected to the museum: the Tuileries Gardens. This large public park serves as a direct link between the Louvre palace and the Place de la Concorde, making it a natural extension of the museum's physical and historical environment.
The Histoire du Louvre Programme
The acquisition was made as part of the histoire du Louvre programme. This initiative focuses on collecting contemporary or historical works that directly reference or reflect upon the history and identity of the Louvre itself. By acquiring a work about the Tuileries, the museum is documenting a core part of its own story through a modern lens.
Donatien Grau, the Louvre's head of contemporary programmes, explained the motivation behind the project. He stated that the museum aimed to create the first-ever video portrait of this significant Parisian landscape. "We wanted to do, for the first time, a video portrait of this garden—the largest in the centre of Paris, and the only one attached institutionally to a major museum," Grau said.
The Artist Mohamed Bourouissa
The museum selected Mohamed Bourouissa for this historic commission, citing his status as a leading contemporary video artist. Born in Algeria and raised in a suburb of Paris, Bourouissa's work often explores themes of community, social systems, and the representation of everyday life.
His connection to the Paris region adds a personal layer to the artwork. In the video, viewers can see the 4 Temps shopping mall in the distant La Défense business district. This is the area where Bourouissa grew up, creating a subtle but meaningful link between the historic heart of Paris and its modern periphery.
"Mohamed was the right artist; he is one of the greatest video artists of our time, has engaged with the logics [workings] of garden, as well as with the history of art that the Louvre embodies."
– Donatien Grau, Head of Contemporary Programmes, Musée du Louvre
According to Grau, Bourouissa's expertise in both the natural world of gardens and the art historical context embodied by the Louvre made him the ideal choice for this groundbreaking project.
From Instagram Project to Museum Piece
The artwork's creation was a unique public-facing process that began on social media. Prior to the acquisition, the Louvre invited Bourouissa to create a new video of the Tuileries Gardens each week for an entire year. This project ran from February 2024 to February 2025 on the museum's official Instagram channel.
This approach allowed millions of online viewers to follow the garden's evolution in real time. "Fifty-two weeks and 52 videos—we could follow the life of the garden for an entire year, across the four seasons," Grau explained. The weekly format captured the subtle changes in light, weather, plant life, and human activity within the famous park.
After the year-long social media residency concluded, the videos were removed from Instagram. Bourouissa then edited and transformed the 52 individual clips into a single, cohesive artwork intended for a museum setting.
A Soundtrack from Nature
For the final installation, Mohamed Bourouissa composed a unique musical score. He created the music by recording the vibrations of the plants within the Tuileries Gardens, translating the biological energy of the landscape into an auditory experience that accompanies the visuals.
Exhibition and Significance
The completed work, Les 4 temps, will be presented to the public in an extended exhibition. It is scheduled to be displayed in the Salle de la Chapelle, a room within the Louvre that offers a direct view overlooking the gardens themselves. This placement creates a powerful connection between the artwork and its living subject.
Exhibition Details:
- Location: Salle de la Chapelle, Musée du Louvre
- Dates: October 22, 2024 – January 19, 2026
The museum expressed significant pride in this acquisition. The move is seen not just as adding a new piece to the collection, but as a statement about the Louvre's commitment to engaging with contemporary artistic practices. By acquiring a work that originated on a digital platform like Instagram, the museum is also acknowledging the evolving ways in which art is created and consumed in the modern era.
This first step into video art opens the door for future acquisitions of new media, ensuring that the Louvre's collection continues to reflect the ongoing history of art, not just its past.