Louvre Abu Dhabi has announced its first international exhibition of 2022, Versailles & the World. Running from 26 January until 4 June and organised in partnership with Musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, it will showcase the history of the royal court at Versailles, inviting visitors to explore over 100 artworks from the collections of Louvre Abu Dhabi, the UK’s Royal Collection Trust and 17 French lenders alongside a wide-ranging cultural programme. On exhibit will be a combination of paintings, books, manuscripts, sculptures, and numerous pieces of decorative art such as porcelain, tableware, silverware, gilt bronze and furniture.
The exhibition will be on from Wednesday January 26 to Saturday June 4. It tells the story of Versailles and the French royal court. The exhibition is being presented in partnership with Musée National des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon.
The exhibition is co-curated by Hélène Delalex (Heritage Curator) and Bertrand Rondot (Chief Heritage Curator) from the Department of Furniture and Decorative Arts at the Musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon. Collectively, they said, “Curiosity was the driving force at Versailles in the 17th and 18th centuries. Countries beyond Europe were seen as places of wonder, but also of scientific discovery. This fascination often expressed itself most eloquently in the fine and decorative arts where ideas and motifs were appropriated, not just from the Islamic and Oriental worlds, but from other European nations such as England and Italy.”
Delalex and Rondot are supported by Dr. Souraya Noujaim, Scientific, Curatorial and Collections Management Director at Louvre Abu Dhabi. Speaking of the upcoming exhibition, she said: “Louvre Abu Dhabi invites visitors to discover the court at Versailles and its vistas onto the wider world. Designed for those who are familiar with Versailles and those who are not, it shows how the arts were inspired by other lands and reflects the French court’s fascination with those distant countries, as well as the ambivalent, even competitive relations it had with them.”
Visit www.louvreabudhabi.ae for more information.