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The works of art were lent to the French gallery by Slovenia's National Gallery, which closed its doors in the autumn last year due to renovation.

The show will be opened by President Borut Pahor as part of his visit to France, and will feature 81 paintings, 20 sculptures and 36 illustrations.

National Gallery director Barbara Jaki told the STA that the exhibition will showcase artists, such as painters Rihard Jakopič, Ivan Grohar, Matej Sternen and Matija Jama as well as photographer Avgust Berthold.

"Iconic Slovenian painters will be showcased in one of the world's art capitals for three months," Jaki stressed.

She added that impressionists will be joined by their precursors, such as Ivana Kobilca, Jurij Šubic and Anton Ažbet, as well as their contemporaries, such as sculptors Alojz Gangl, Ivan Zajec, Fran Berneker and Lojze Dolinar and painters Peter Žmitek, Ivan Vavpotič, Henrika Šantel, Gvidon Birolla and Maksim Gaspari.

The exhibition will also showcase the beginnings of Slovenian filmmaking with three short films by Karol Grossmanm and the contemporary architectures with videos of buildings designed by Ciril Metod Koch, Maks Fabiani, Josip Vancaš and Jože Plečnik.

A catalogue featuring 70 reproductions and texts on 160 pages will be published as part of the exhibition. Jaki has said that this will be the first time that Slovenian arts will be presented to international audience at such a scale.

Slovenian Ambassador to France Veronika Stabej meanwhile told the STA that talks to mount this exhibition started in 2011 when the then Culture Minister Majda Širca visited Paris.

According to Stabej, the hardest point of the talks was to persuade the French that Slovenian Impressionists existed alongside the French. They found that almost sacrilegious, she noted.