Lady Liberté. De la sueur

An immersive experience at the heart of the construction of the Statue of Liberty.

The Statue of Liberty, or Lady Liberty, is not only an icon of New York and the United States: it is also a masterpiece of French ingenuity! Born in late 19th-century Paris, in the workshops of Gaget and Auguste Bartholdi, its construction mobilised the skills, trades, and people capable of pushing the technical limits of their era. On the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence, the MuAM invites you to delve behind the scenes of this exceptional project, through a unique and immersive visitor experience. Between video projections, 3D installations, and real sets, step behind the scenes of a work forged in sweat, driven by audacity, and carried by genius.

Immersed in the workshops

From the initial enlargement techniques to the grand departure for New York, the exhibition takes you step-by-step through the construction of Lady Liberty! The clang of hammering, the smell of wet plaster, the appearance of Auguste Bartholdi… the sensory journey draws you into the effervescence of the Gaget workshops. Under its glass roofs, immersive installations reveal the shaping of plaster models and the creation of the first full-scale wooden templates. Further on, you are plunged into the heart of the forges, where each copper plate is assembled onto metal frames. The visitor experience concludes within the statue's inner workings, revealing the ingenious framework designed by Gustave Eiffel… before it was crated for its transatlantic voyage.

Materials and people

Blacksmiths, carpenters, sculptors, boilermakers… nearly a dozen trades, most of which still exist, worked to bring this copper and iron giant to life! In the tumult of the workshops, every gesture counted, every skill intertwined in service of a true collective epic made of challenges, artisanal prowess.