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If you can’t afford a ticket to Paris, LEGO can help bring the City of Lights to you with its two newest sets. The first one is Leonardo DaVinci’s Mona Lisa. It comes complete with a gold frame for art lovers to display it on a wall, seamlessly fitting it with other framed pieces. Along with the Renaissance masterpiece, LEGO is also releasing a recreation of the Notre-Dame cathedral in its pre-2019 fire state. Together, the sets will make Francophiles feel like they have a front row private viewing of the massively popular tourist attractions.
LEGO’s latest launch is to celebrate the French capital’s momentous 2024. Starting July 26, Paris will be hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics and the 2024 Paralympics. As a result, it will become only the second city after London to host the Summer Olympics three times, previously having done so in 1900 and 1924. Also fittingly, the beloved Gothic cathedral Notre-Dame is scheduled to reopen to the public in December, after five years of painstaking reconstruction.
The LEGO Art Mona Lisa will feature 1,503 pieces. For historical accuracy, new hues have been used to reflect what a freshly painted Mona Lisa would have looked like 500 years ago. LEGO designed its drum-laquered gold frame to be detachable, allowing for multiple display options. The designer, Milan Madge, notes, “A culmination of Da Vinci’s lifelong study of science and nature, the Mona Lisa is packed with stories and details that we thoroughly enjoyed researching and implementing. We’re excited for LEGO fans and art lovers to explore more about this enigmatic artwork, and to have the opportunity to hang a piece of LEGO history on their walls.” The portrait is just one of a series of interpretations of artworks. Already available art kits include Hokusai’s The Great Wave and an open-ended set to create an abstract modernist piece.
Once you’ve duplicated the world’s most valuable and visited work of art, you can take a journey through 800 years of history. According to designer Rok Žgalin Kobe, LEGO has designed its Notre-Dame de Paris edition of their Architecture series to try to “bring it to life by not only capturing its outward appearance, but the way and the stages in which the original was build. We wanted LEGO fans to retrace the architectural journey and evolution of this landmark during its construction, to encourage a deeper appreciation for its real-life counterpart.” It will feature 4,383 pieces and allow for an easily removable roof so that hobby architects can appreciate the interior details of their creation.
The Mona Lisa set is now available for pre-order, but you will have to wait until October 2024 for it to be shipped. The small-scale Notre-Dame set is also available for pre-order and will ship in just a few weeks on June 1, 2024.
LEGO has unveiled two new sets inspired by Paris in anticipation of the city hosting this year’s Olympics.
With one set, you can avoid the crowds in Paris by making your own Mona Lisa at home.
The other sweet pays homage to Notre-Dame and comes with a guide that shares the history of the French landmark.
Both sets are now available for pre-order.
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All images via LEGO.
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