Two cultures that have become familiar with each other
You have been director of the national museum of the châteaux of Versailles and Trianon since 2016. Can you look back on your career and tell us about the significance of this unprecedented exchange in 60 years of France-China relations?
I actually began my career in 1990 at the Grenoble museum before directing the Rennes Museum of Fine Arts in 1995 and the museums of the city of Rouen from 2001 to 2011. Between April 2011 and the end of 2016, I was scientific director of the public establishment of the Réunion des musées nationaux and the Grand Palais, before taking the position of director of the national museum of the castles of Versailles and Trianon to this day. I am a specialist in the French 17th and 19th centuries.
This international exhibition is of particular importance, both for its symbolic significance, and for the difficulty due to both geographical and cultural distance. Surprisingly, these difficulties faded over the course of the project, with personal links created between the French and Chinese experts. It is the reflection of this exhibition which only tells of a rapprochement and mutual knowledge between these two cultures, to the point of becoming familiar with each other. Today we are only continuing a story that began 4 centuries ago.
A philosophical scope in the exhibition
China and France have continued to influence each other. How does this exhibition of 120 works highlight these exchanges?
Some of the works illustrate the face to face between political leaders such as Louis XIV and Kangxi or even Louis XV and Qianlong whose chronologies correspond almost perfectly. Other objects bear witness to scientific or technical exchanges and others show the evolution of the tastes of each country under the influence of the other. This part fascinates us art historians who note how Chinese art objects enter voluntarily or involuntarily into French aesthetics or the reverse. Beyond art, in my opinion there is a philosophical significance to these exchanges, which is embodied in the portrait of Voltaire, a great admirer of China, at the conclusion of the exhibition, and which reminds us how curiosity, respect and discovery of others are vectors of human progress.
The objects on display are sometimes difficult to attribute to the visitor as the Chinese or French orders were in the style of the other country. This is the case of the Coteau teapot which our Chinese friends consider to be particularly representative of their culture at its highest level and which is a marvel of French know-how. The Chinese emperors also showed themselves fond of the gallant French atmosphere which they sought to import into their courts. While the French were fascinated by Chinese purity and refinement, the Chinese were fascinated by the sophistication and rigor of the French. Thus on the scientific side, the French discoveries have largely impressed China and on the artistic level the grandiose side and the great perspectives.
Versailles has regained pre-Covid attendance
What would you like to convey to visitors?
The main message is that from two different universes a third, even richer dimension emerges. By confronting what was being done on the other side of the world, each country improved and the combination of the two produced a magnificent result. In Beijing, the exhibition has already attracted 175,000 visitors. In Hong Kong, with a very international positioning, a very dynamic cultural positioning and this brand new museum, we still expect to exceed this figure.
The Chinese public has always favored Versailles. How do you plan to continue to maintain this appeal?
While the Forbidden City attracts half of Chinese visitors and 30% from the rest of China, we have the opposite phenomenon in Versailles where the public is 80% foreign. Among these, the Chinese constitute the second best represented nationality. With 13% of the total before Covid, the closure of travel during the pandemic sharply reduced the number of Chinese tourists, hence the idea of virtual exhibitions which circulated between Hong Kong and Shanghai to revive interest. Today the Chinese are returning without us having yet regained the initial percentage but it is very promising. That said, Versailles is never empty with 8.5 million visitors each year and our problem is no longer to fill but to welcome tourists by distributing them throughout the castle and different seasons.
Versailles has always been open to the world
How to continue the search? What are the consequences of this exchange?
Contacts between conservatives will continue. On the occasion of this exhibition, new questions arise about the origin and destination of certain objects. Marie-Laure de Rochebrune, who greatly contributed to the success of this exhibition, is retiring, but Vincent Bastien is still in Versailles and intends to engage in this research. For their part, our colleagues at the Forbidden City are keen to continue research on their French collection.
What are your plans for Versailles in 2025?
Many projects are planned. At the end of the year an exhibition on the Grand Dauphin, this son of whom Louis XIV wanted to make the ideal man, in refinement, education and power, which is saying something when we know the opinion he already had of himself. A smaller exhibition concerns the bust of Louis XIV by Bernini, another of contemporary art on Guillaume Bresson. An exhibition outside the walls dedicated to the Count of Artois, the brother of Louis XVI at the Château de Maison Laffitte.
Finally, a very original exhibition will focus on a Native American embassy coming from Louisiana to meet Louis XV in 1725, exactly 300 years ago. The memory of this visit is still celebrated by these Native American nations who had been seduced by the modernity and the liberal side of the French administration, contrasting with the English domination which followed. The testimonies and traditional objects linked to this visit are impressive for this exhibition in collaboration with the Musée du Quai Branly in November.
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