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[Expo] « Les Choses » au Louvre : une histoire de la nature morte, ou comment les objets nous parlent​

Eléonore de Vulpillières 17 décembre 2022Culture
[Expo] "Les Choses" at the Louvre: a history of still life, or how objects speak to us
Eléonore de Vulpillières December 17, 2022Culture

Nature morte avec pastèques et pommes de Meléndez

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Nous vivons tous entourés d’objets dont la société de consommation a contribué à faire exploser le nombre. L’exposition « Les Choses », au Louvre, nous propose d’interroger notre rapport aux objets à travers un parcours sur la nature morte, de l’Antiquité à nos jours.
Genre considéré comme mineur, la nature morte n’avait pas fait l’objet d’une grande exposition parisienne depuis celle au musée de l’Orangerie en 1952. Jusqu’au 23 janvier 2023, 170 œuvres ont été rassemblées au Louvre pour l’exposition « Les Choses », à la fois chronologique et thématique. L’idée qui préside à la genèse de cette exposition est le dialogue entre le visiteur et les objets qui l’entourent au quotidien.
Avant même d’entrer dans le parcours, on est accueilli par la projection de la scène finale du film Zabriskie Point de Michelangelo Antonioni, sorti en 1970 : une vision de l’explosion d’une villa hyperluxueuse. Télévision, vêtements de prêt-à-porter, nourriture de restauration rapide… tous les objets qui incarnent la société de consommation sont pulvérisés dans le ciel bleu. Le ton est donné. « Car les choses et l’être ont un grand dialogue », écrivait Victor Hugo dans Les Contemplations.
La nourriture au cœur des représentations
L’une des premières pièces de l’exposition est une stèle funéraire égyptienne qui date de 1970 avant notre ère. Un intendant zélé est représenté avec de nombreuses offrandes de nourriture à ses côtés, viandes, pain, bières… au bon serviteur est promise l’abondance matérielle dans l’au-delà. Dès le début de l’exposition, le memento mori est présent à tous les esprits, car des représentations de squelettes et de crânes côtoyant les plus grands mets rappellent au visiteur que la nourriture de ce monde n’empêche pas le pourrissement des corps et la mort. Ce sont les premières vanités… que l’on retrouvera quinze siècles plus tard dans les représentations de l’art chrétien de la Renaissance.
Des témoignages sur le quotidien de nos ancêtres
La peinture de la fin du Moyen Âge introduit des objets dans les scènes religieuses, comme cette Annonciation de l’atelier de Rogier van der Weyden qui se déroule dans une chambre à coucher caractéristique des demeures bourgeoises du milieu de XVe siècle : lit, mobilier, tentures, livre, vase, aiguière… tous les détails permettent au spectateur de l’époque de retrouver dans ce décor familier l’annonce de la naissance de Jésus. À partir du XVIe siècle, il n’y a plus besoin du prétexte religieux pour représenter les objets.
Plusieurs tableaux sont ainsi de précieux témoignage sur les habitudes quotidiennes de l’époque, comme la Fermière hollandaise de Pieter Aertsen entourée de tonneaux, fromages frais, de lait et d’œufs, symboles de renouveau et de printemps, ou encore Le Marché aux poissons de Joachim Beuckelaer, dans lequel le rouge des vêtements des marchands anversois renvoie à celui de la chair des poissons évidés. Ce qui retient l’attention est le travail des peintres dans la composition des toiles, l’harmonie des couleurs et des formes. Car rappelons que le terme français de nature morte est né assez tardivement, au XVIIe siècle, tandis qu’en anglais, on parlera de façon plus précise de vie immobile (still life).

We all live surrounded by objects, the number of which has exploded as a result of consumerism. The exhibition "Les Choses", at the Louvre, invites us to question our relationship with objects through a tour of the still life, from Antiquity to the present day.

Considered a minor genre, still life has not been the subject of a major Parisian exhibition since the Musée de l'Orangerie in 1952. Until January 23, 2023, 170 works have been brought together at the Louvre for the exhibition "Les Choses", both chronological and thematic. The idea behind this exhibition is the dialogue between the visitor and the objects that surround him in his daily life.

Even before entering the exhibition, we are greeted by the projection of the final scene of Michelangelo Antonioni's film Zabriskie Point, released in 1970: a vision of the explosion of a hyper-luxurious villa. Television, ready-to-wear clothes, fast food... all the objects that embody the consumer society are pulverized in the blue sky. The tone is set. "For things and being have a great dialogue," wrote Victor Hugo in Les Contemplations.

Food at the heart of the performances

One of the first pieces in the exhibition is an Egyptian funerary stele dating from 1970 BC. A zealous steward is depicted with numerous offerings of food at his side, meat, bread, beer... the good servant is promised material abundance in the afterlife. From the beginning of the exhibition, the memento mori is present in all minds, as representations of skeletons and skulls next to the greatest delicacies remind the visitor that the food of this world does not prevent the rotting of bodies and death. These are the first vanities... that we will find fifteen centuries later in the representations of Christian art of the Renaissance.

Evidence of the daily life of our ancestors

Late medieval painting introduced objects into religious scenes, such as this Annunciation from the workshop of Rogier van der Weyden, which takes place in a bedroom typical of middle-class homes in the middle of the 15th century: bed, furniture, hangings, book, vase, ewer... all the details allow the viewer of the time to find the announcement of Jesus' birth in this familiar setting. From the 16th century onwards, there was no longer any need for a religious pretext to represent objects.

Several paintings are thus precious testimonies of the daily habits of the time, such as Pieter Aertsen's Dutch Farmer surrounded by barrels, fresh cheese, milk and eggs, symbols of renewal and spring, or Joachim Beuckelaer's Fish Market, in which the red of the clothes of the Antwerp merchants refers to that of the flesh of the gutted fish. What catches the eye is the work of the painters in the composition of the paintings, the harmony of colors and forms. For let us recall that the French term of still life was born rather late, in the 17th century, while in English, one will speak more precisely of still life.

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Des natures mortes qui reflètent la vulnérabilité humaine
À partir du XVIIe siècle, les cabinets de curiosités se multiplient, ce qui permet de concentrer en un minimum de place le plus d’objets possibles, issus des quatre coins du monde : éponges, coquillages et coraux sont peints en plan rapproché, ou intégrés à des scènes mythologiques comme cette toile de Francken représentant Ulysse reconnaissant Achille déguisé en femme parmi les filles de Lycomède.

Still lifes that reflect human vulnerability
From the seventeenth century onwards, cabinets of curiosities multiplied, which made it possible to concentrate as many objects as possible from the four corners of the world in a minimum of space: sponges, shells and corals were painted in close-up, or integrated into mythological scenes such as this painting by Francken representing Ulysses recognizing Achilles disguised as a woman among the daughters of Lycomedes.

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Avis aux âmes sensibles, une salle est consacrée aux animaux morts ou écorchés, du célèbre Bœuf écorché de Rembrandt à la Tête de vache photographiée en 1984 par l’Américain Andres Serrano, qui nous regarde d’outre-tombe avec un œil en coin. Ce motif de l’animal mort évoque, dans une projection anthropocentrée, la condition humaine dans sa fragilité et sa vulnérabilité.

For the faint of heart, a room is devoted to dead or skinned animals, from Rembrandt's famous Skinned Ox to the Cow's Head photographed in 1984 by the American Andres Serrano, who looks at us from beyond the grave with a winking eye. This motif of the dead animal evokes, in an anthropocentric projection, the human condition in its fragility and vulnerability.
 
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Rothenburg: the town where time stands still. This city in northern Bavaria (Germany) has not changed since the end of the Renaissance.
However, Rothenburg was nearly razed to the ground twice in the course of its history. The first time was during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). Rothenburg had been Protestant since the Reformation, and legend has it that in 1631 it was besieged by the Catholic armies of Count Tilly. He was furious and when the town fell, the inhabitants tried to calm him down by offering him a mug of wine. And not just any mug. It contained 3.25 litres! Tilly said that if one of the town councillors could empty the mug in one go, he would spare Rothenburg... It was the burgomaster who did so, and saved the town.
A beautiful story, though apparently without historical basis, but still alive. In the 19th century, it gave rise to a play which is still performed today. It is called the Meistertrunk, and is celebrated at Whitsun.

The other historical period that could have been the death knell for Rothenburg was at the very end of the Second World War. On 31 March 1945, the Americans bombed the town. They wanted to destroy a fuel depot in the valley. But the mission was abandoned because of the fog. Except that the planes had to drop their bombs, they couldn't land with them. They dropped them on the eastern part of the city, levelling it. The American troops on the ground had to finish the job. But one officer, who had known Rothenburg before the war, intervened to prevent further destruction. An American saving a German city, a paradox of history for a city that is no longer so close to one. For if Rothenburg is rich today with its ramparts and buildings, it is because it remained poor for a long time!

In the Middle Ages, the town was at the crossroads of two important trade routes, and the inhabitants built beautiful houses. But after the Thirty Years' War, the town fell asleep for several centuries, and no one had the desire or the money to tear down the old buildings and build new ones. So the old ones were kept. To the delight of today's tourists...

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The rich folklore of the Pacific island nations is filled with legends of mysterious civilisations that preceded the arrival of their modern inhabitants.

Some of these are so incredible that they can easily be attributed to Polynesian fantasy. However, there is a problem: gigantic structures and curious artefacts built by their predecessors can still be seen to this day. The most famous of these are probably the moaī, the huge statues on Easter Island. But in addition to the stone giants of Rapa Nui, there are others no less astonishing, which have survived to the present day and about which even less is known...

Off the east coast of the Micronesian island of Pohnpei are the mysterious ancient ruins of Nan Madol. They are little known and deserve great attention. Pohnpei is a tiny island in the Pacific Ocean, located in the northeast of Papua New Guinea, approximately the size of a square of 18 kilometres. Next to it, an artificial lagoon has been built with basalt stone blocks on a coral reef base over an area of about 1.5 km x 0.5 km.

This lagoon is surrounded by a wall and there are 93 artificial islets containing the abandoned remains of residential buildings, fortifications, the ruler's residence, granaries and graves. Between the artificial islets are canals, which is why some call Nan Madol the Venice of the Pacific. These islets are also connected by underwater tunnels.

The magnitude of the human effort required to build the complex without modern cranes and other machinery is illustrated by a calculation that 250 million tons of basalt were used in the construction. The high walls are constructed from stacked basalt 'logs', each weighing several tonnes. A scientific study in 2012 determined where on the island the builders could have obtained the raw material, although all the sites identified were several kilometres away from the construction site. The sunken blocks along the coastline suggest that transport was by water, although it is physically impossible for such heavy blocks to have been transported using the dugout canoes of the time. Besides, who would build such large tidal channels for reed boats. Such a huge construction would require tens of thousands of people working for many years, huge facilities, food, things that are difficult to provide on such a small isolated piece of land.

Local legends tell of two powerful wizards who magically made the blocks fly into place. This is reminiscent of the legends of Easter Island, also in the Pacific region, which describe a similar way of transporting Maoi stone figures. There are more similarities. The megalithic structure at Nan Madol was probably completed in the 13th century, around the same time as the moaī were built. Here and there are small islands in the middle of nowhere, on which fantastic constructions were erected for the time, and on which the local civilisation later degenerated and collapsed in a short time.

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This temple built in the suburb of Datong, in the north of Shanxi, is a special temple that federates Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. Xuankong Temple was formerly known as the "Empty and Mysterious Pavilion". The adjective "mysterious" comes from the doctrine of Taoism, a traditional Chinese religion, while the term "empty" comes from Buddhism. The change of name from "Empty and Mysterious Pavilion" to "Xuankong Temple" (Hanging Temple) is due to the fact that the whole building seems to be suspended from the cliff. In Chinese, the pronunciation of the word "Xuankong" (meaning "hanging") and the word "mysterious" are identical.

One of the architectural features of Xuankong Temple is its strangeness. The Xuankong Temple is as if suspended from the side of a cliff. The protruding rocks at the top of the cliff form an umbrella that allows the ancient temple to avoid rain erosion. During floods, the waters of the river below do not reach the temple, while the height of the peaks around the temple protects it from the heat and the scorching sun. In summer, the temple only gets three hours of sunlight during the day.

This is why the "Hanging Temple" has been so well preserved for more than 1000 years, even though it is made entirely of wood. The "Hanging Temple" consists of halls, kiosks and pavilions, a total of 40 rooms connected by wooden walkways on which visitors walk carefully, lest heavy footsteps shake the temple. Yet, despite the disturbing noises of the walkways, the temple stuck to the rocks remains unshakeable: Indeed, the temple is supported under its base by about ten wooden props.

However, some of these props do not support the construction at all. What really holds the temple up are the beams inserted deep into 2000 rocks. These beams are made of tsuga wood from China. Soaked in Chinese wood oil, these beams are resistant to termites and corrosion. The base of the pavilions rests on them. In addition, vertical wooden pillars under the temple also play an important role in the suspension of the entire temple. The support points of these wooden pillars have been well calculated: some pillars support the weight, others are intended to balance the different pavilions, and some only play their supporting role on certain occasions.

Why did man build such a temple on a cliff? Because there was an important communication route below. The construction of the temple on the cliff could facilitate the prayers of the believers who were travelling. In addition, the stream at the foot of the mountain and the temple overflowed after heavy rains. It was even believed that it was the "golden dragon" that exercised its evil power in this way and they wanted to build a pagoda to punish it. This is why this "hanging temple" was built on the cliffside.

On the rock face of the walkway leading to Xuankong Temple, four large Chinese characters have been carved: "Celestial Ingenuity of Gong Shu" which praises the construction techniques of Xuankong Temple. Note that "Gong Shu" was Gong Shuban, the builder. He was a master recognised by all Chinese builders of the time. These four Chinese characters mean that the Xuankong Temple could only be built by genius builders like Gong Shuban.

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There is a famous house in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia known as the Al Makkiyah Mansion. It's a private residence that was designed by the architect and historian Dr. Sami Angawi who lives there and regularly hosts meetings, lectures and concerts. It can apparently be visited by the public by appointment. I don't think 'houses of the rich and famous' is what this thread is going for but this has a bit more quality then something you'd find on South Beach, imo.

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It has been posted before, but I wanted to add Mont-Saint-Michel as seen from a distance. It is an awe-inspiring sight. And I would love to be able to see it for the first time through the eyes of a person in the 24th or 15th century. It is something about the combination of the flat coastal landscape and the architecture rising towards the sky, the untamed nature of the surrounding sea, and the mastery of architects that left a deep impression on me every time I went.

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German romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) painted very atmospheric landscapes.

„All authentic art is conceived at a sacred moment and nourished in a blessed hour; an inner impulse creates it, often without the artist being aware of it.“ (Caspar David Friedrich)


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There is a famous house in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia known as the Al Makkiyah Mansion. It's a private residence that was designed by the architect and historian Dr. Sami Angawi who lives there and regularly hosts meetings, lectures and concerts. It can apparently be visited by the public by appointment. I don't think 'houses of the rich and famous' is what this thread is going for but this has a bit more quality then something you'd find on South Beach, imo.

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This house is extraordinary!
 
It really is! And to make it even more so (if you hadn't seen it already like I didn't)... Look at the tile floor image (3rd). Then look at the 5th image. Can you see it? The water level? That's right. The entire floor is a pool! That's why it's completely tiled and sloped. Shallow end/deep end.
It's fantastic. I want to live in a house like that, maybe in another life for sure because for now I think it is impossible. I am not a princess of the desert. Thanks for the pictures, they are like pictures of fairy tales, or from One Thousand and One Nights!

 
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