Embedded in the Bellifontaine woodwork since the reign of Charles Royal Hunts Tapestry are unfortunately not [1] not the best known treasures of the “house of the centuries” since the apartment to which they gave their name has the disadvantage of being located in a dead end on the tour route and therefore very often remains closed to the public . Unlike the furniture gallery which seems doomed to permanent oblivion like the painting gallery which only comes to life once a year, the Chasses apartment was recently the scene of a very spectacular restoration project. (see the article) which comes to salute this very successful exhibition. If the most jaded have perhaps gone there dragging their feet and filled with memories of a first exhibition entitled “Animaux d'Oudry” which is – already – twenty years old, we bet that visitors come away seduced by the unexpected results of such an operation which became seriously necessary. Anxious to make the walk as informative as it is pleasant, curators Oriane Beaufils and Vincent Cochet have designed an effective route between drawing, painting and tapestry without forgetting all the protagonists of the Royal Vénerie, often immortalized by Oudry's brush.
- 1. View of the exhibition “Jean-Baptiste Oudry, painter of racing”
Photo: Aurélien Boyé
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See the image on his page
- 2. View of the exhibition “Jean-Baptiste Oudry, painter of racing”
Photo: Aurélien Boyé
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See the image on his page
Commendable contextualization efforts coupled with an elegant scenography (ill. 1 and 2) introduce neophytes to the practices and actors of the royal hunts of Louis . Definitely adept at repatriating from Tuscany the treasures that once embellished French royal residences (see the article), the Bellifontaine teams are working to promote their restored jewels while skilfully juxtaposing them with the large tapestries coming from Compiègne as well as Florence. However, the vast proportions of the Salle de la Belle Cheminée do not allow the boxes and then the weavings to be displayed, so the exhibition is split in two, which both enriches and weakens the subject. Varied and documented, the first part is peppered with loans which illuminate and contextualize the genesis of the Royal Hunts Tapestry – let's quote the unforgettable portrait of the gamekeeper La Forêt came from Compiègne where the immense composition of 1730 of which the Musée des Augustins de Toulouse, closed for renovation, could well be relinquished for a few months – while the second part, in a partly bare apartment in Les Chasses, presents the four boxes waiting catering!
- 3. Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686-1755)
The Rendez-vous at the crossroads of…
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France
Art
