Museum

A large, impressive structure made by Lamparredo: ‘The Wave’ is an immersive spectacle designed to inspire reflection, dedicated to storms and shipwrecks.
An interactive, lively place, dominated by an immense wave that transports visitors a thousand miles from the mainland. It addresses the topic of danger at sea through statements, records, monumental works and objects coming from famous shipwrecks.

The first element of the exhibition is a large structure made by Lamparredo, replicating the bow of a life-size ship. An immersive experience, characterised by a film projected on a large hemispherical screen, it extends over visitors and multiplies viewpoints.

Lamparredo has made most of the display cases, some of which are up to 9 meters (30 feet) long. They contain over 1,000 items from the museum’s collection, including scientific and technical instruments, decorative objects, models, photographs, sculptures, paintings and even furniture. The exhibition illustrates the history of the French Navy, the evolution of the art of navigation, and the richness of naval sculpture.
‘An incredible fleet of models’: bearing witness to a fleet which has disappeared, today these models are key pieces in the museum’s collection. Some date back to the Age of Enlightenment, the visionary idea of an encyclopaedist, or even a naval inspector general. In 1748, Henri-Louis Duhamel du Monceau (1700-1782) gave Louis XV the collection of models of ships and port machinery which he had patiently assembled.
This gave rise to the Navy Hall at the Louvre: a tool with which to teach students of the prestigious School of Engineers-Builders of the Royal Navy of France. Even before becoming objects of wonder, these models were in fact used to train and educate future officials, so that they could become familiar with the manoeuvring and organisation of ships.