One piece of work at Louvre. [Global Times]

 

"The shooting process at the Louvre was really very inspiring, but (our) experience in Paris was not as pleasing as we dreamed," Zhou, one of the directors, recalled. "The crew members had to bear the cold weather in winter, and for me, Paris was not as beautiful as it used to be, due to the workload."

Zhou is one of the most renowned documentary directors in China, known for previous masterpieces such as Dunhuang and The Palace Museum, both telling the stories behind different Chinese cultures.

"We entered the Louvre before dawn, as there were few people (around)," Zhou recalled.

"After we finished a day's work and got out of the museum, it was already dark. Everyone was so tired and starving, with no time to enjoy the beautiful street scenes that Paris is famous for."

Each episode goes behind rare art works to look at their stories, sometimes juxtaposed with Chinese art achievements of the same era, like representative collections at the Forbidden City.

For example, episode seven focuses on the Renaissance period by looking at one Louvre's most famous jewels, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. By relating the biography of da Vinci and the painting, the film reveals the importance of science and geometry in Italian Renaissance art.