Japanese masks that resemble Jacques Chirac to go on display in Paris
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Version 0 of 1. Three antique Japanese theatre masks bearing a striking resemblance to the former French president Jacques Chirac are to go on display at a museum in Paris that he set up 10 years ago, which will now bear his name. Jean-Jacques Aillagon, who served as France’s culture minister under Chirac, explained that the late 18th-century masks represent a Japanese theatre character, which was always carved with similar features. “There are thousands of Chiracs in Japan,” he said. The Musée du quai Branly, which specialises in early art from Africa, Asia and the Americas, will be renamed “Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac”. The exhibition, beginning on Tuesday, delves into Chirac’s long-hidden passion for such works of art. The former president, 83, has been better known for his love of food and beer. A commentator once said of him: “Men usually read Playboy hidden behind the cover of a poetry book, but Chirac reads poetry behind a copy of Playboy.” Chirac’s wife, Bernadette Chirac, who said she was speaking for her husband, said: “France is never greater than when it engages with other cultures, other people. It’s a strong message and one that is very relevant now.” Chirac, a centre-right politician and prominent figure in French politics for decades, was president from 1995 to 2007. |