A New Graphic Arts Wing at the Domaine de Chantilly

On March 24 the Domaine de Chantilly inaugurated its highly anticipated graphic arts wing. Five rooms have been restored to form the setting of ambitious exhibitions drawn from the outstanding collections of drawings, prints and photographs of the Condé museum – a collection second only to the Louvre. Masterpieces, sometimes unpublished, are presented all year round including works of the greatest Italian, French and Nordic artists, from the Renaissance to the 19th century with names like Raphael, Michelangelo, Dürer, Clouet, Rembrandt, Poussin, Watteau and Delacroix.

The restoration work of the five new rooms was carried out in strict respect of the original architecture and decorated under the direction of Pierre-Antoine Gatier, chief architect of historic monuments. All of these rooms and their historical décor – including wooden floors, woodwork, ceilings, fireplaces and chandeliers – were restored taking as a reference a ‘moment frozen in time’, the death of Henri d’Orléans, Duke of Aumale, in 1897. (The Domaine de Chantilly houses the collected treasures of the prince, son of the last king of France and an avid collector of manuscripts and books.)

The inaugural exhibition offers a tour of the Italian Renaissance, from Venice to Florence, during the prolific 1500s, a time of intense artistic innovation and stylistic upheaval that fundamentally influenced the art of the 16th century.

Inaugural exhibition of the prints and drawings gallery: Bellini, Michelangelo, Parmigianino. Until August 20. Website: www.domainedechantilly.com/en

Related article: Museum Watch: Musée Condé at the Chateau de Chantilly

From France Today magazine