32 cities against an “ugly” France exhibit paintings by masters in their streets

More than thirty cities in France have decided to exhibit, until mid-December, representations of master paintings in their streets and commercial areas in the hope of circumventing “what is ugly”.

Launched in Saint-Dizier in 2021 in the wake of Covid, the “Beauty will save the world” operation thus extends its borders for the first time before a possible generalization in France in 2025, according to the wish formulated by the mayor of this town from Haute-Marne, Quentin Brière, this Tuesday, November 19.

Thus, until mid-December, 32 cities are exhibiting images of prestigious works by masters like Monet or Van Gogh in their streets and commercial areas.

“You get art when you get out of your car”

After Covid, “we had this slightly crazy, but somewhat simple idea of ​​diverting what is ugly, an advertising billboard that is made to sell, in order to expose beauty,” explained Quentin Brière during a a press conference at the meeting of mayors and local authorities in Paris, claiming to want to “create gaps of light in people’s lives”.

For the 2024 edition, high-resolution photos of paintings by Ingres, Caillebotte and Renoir will adorn shop windows, construction site gates and advertising panels until December 8. In total, a thousand materials were distributed in the 32 partner cities, ranging from Aix-en Provence to Roanne or Béthune.

“We pick up art when we get out of our car and drive our children to school,” “without having to go through the museum door,” says Didier Fusillier, president of the Réunion des musées nationaux-Grand Palais. , which made high-resolution photos of the paintings available to the municipalities, drawn from a photographic collection of 1.5 million works.

“We take culture everywhere and we know that that’s how we bring people to museums,” adds Yann Galut, mayor of Bourges, whose city has been designated European Capital of Culture in 2028.

For all these elected officials, this operation also has the merit of being almost painless for finances at a time of budgetary restrictions imposed by the State. The modest reproduction rights paid to potential rights holders are also paid collectively.

“Budgetally, it’s a zero-sum game,” assures the mayor of Laval, Florian Bercault.