Exhibition review: a rich exploration of “Figures of the Fool” at the Louvre, from the Middle Ages to the Romantics

Critics debate around two exhibitions: the fascinating as well as abundant exhibition Figures of the Fool. From the Middle Ages to the Romantics at the Louvre Museum which presents in a chorological tour more than 300 works and Giacometti/Morandi. Still moments at the unique Giacometti Institute to compare the work of two artists who never met.

“Figures of the Fool. From the Middle Ages to the Romantics” at the Louvre Museum

Through 340 works – including medals, illuminations, drawings and even tapestries – the exhibition aims to explore the way madness was represented from the Middle Ages to the Romantics of the 19th century. The first observation is that the madman has been represented enormously. It remains to be seen which madman: the jester, the idiot, the madman or the unbeliever; the definition of madness varies over the centuries and so does the place reserved for it within society.

Studied by social and cultural history, the fascinating figure of the madman, which was part of the visual culture of men of the Middle Ages, has rarely been so from the point of view of the history of Art: yet between the 13th century and the middle of the 16th century, the notion of madness inspired and stimulated artistic creation, both in the field of literature and in that of the visual arts.

The exhibition is on view at the Louvre Museum until February 3, 2025. The exhibition is curated by Elisabeth Antoine-König and Pierre-Yves Le Pogam. The exhibition catalog is available from Editions Gallimard/Musée du Louvre at the price of 45 euros.

Konrad Seusonhofer, helmet from an armor sent by Maximilian to Henry VIII

Critics' opinion:

Sally Bonn : “The exhibition is very rich in its first part, it covers a large part of the Middle Ages from the 13th to the 16th century which allows us to understand the figures of the madman. Then these figures are drawn to romanticism and finally, the The exhibition is a little exhausted, it is much less rich and interesting in its second part because the joyful and political character of the madman is very linked to the Middle Ages and much less to Romanticism. We also approach the question of psychiatry and therefore. no longer at all this somewhat 'buffoonish' figure. For me, it would have been necessary to concentrate the exhibition on the Middle Ages to avoid a slightly unbalanced rendering.”

Sarah Ihler-Meyer : “It's a very interesting exhibition because of its subject and which I enjoyed seeing. There is a wide variety of pieces present: common everyday objects, but also rare works. But this profusion is as much the quality as the pitfall of this exhibition We have a juxtaposition of these ways of seeing the madman in history which can lose the spectator. Furthermore, what is quite striking in this exhibition are the variations of affects: the madman is. associated with irony, celebration, to a joyful and vital dimension which we see disappearing in favor of a darker and more threatening dimension at the end of the 18th century.”

aître ES, Allegory of lust (madman and woman in the mirror)
– Paris © National Library of France

“Giacometti/Morandi. Moments immobile” at the Giacometti Institute

The connection between these two artists does not seem obvious: however, it is this unique meeting that is being offered at the Giacometti Institute in Paris. Because the two artists are certainly contemporaries, but they never met. So what do Giacometti, the sculptor, obsessed with the human figure, have in common with Morandi, the Italian painter of still lifes, of simplicity, of simplicity itself. At least how can they respond to each other?

Bringing together the collections of the Giacometti Foundation with loans from the Museo Morandi in Bologna and European private collections, this exhibition offers a journey through their careers from 1913 to 1965 in three chapters: “The Familiar”, “Landscapes and portraits; The Years of research: modern language formation and finally, The Years of Accomplishment.

The exhibition is on view at the Giacometti Institute until March 2, 2025. The exhibition is curated by Françoise Cohen. The exhibition catalog is available from Fage/Institut Giacometti at the price of 26 euros.