Visitors are crowding into the Louvre museum in Paris to see a major retrospective of Leonardo Da Vinci's paintings. The exhibition of paintings, drawings and sketches opened Thursday to mark the 500th anniversary of the Italian master's death. The museum says 260,000 tickets have already been pre-sold for the show that runs through February 24, 2020. The exhibition includes 160 works, taken from the Louvre's permanent collection and institutions around the world. They include Leonardo's masterpieces, dozens of studies and scientific sketches, and pieces by other artists in his orbit. French visitor Gisele Lelemberg says of Da Vinci, ``he is a great painter. He is a great man of art ... For me he was a genius.'' A virtual reality section delves into the story behind the ``Mona Lisa.'' For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture
