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| Palace of Versailles comes to Canberra in big-ticket blockbuster that doesn't disappoint Palace of Versailles comes to Canberra in big-ticket blockbuster that doesn't disappoint | |
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| If a word could encapsulate the experiential ambition of the National Gallery of Australia’s new major exhibition – which brings to Canberra more than 130 pieces from the Palace of Versailles – it must surely be “immersive”. | If a word could encapsulate the experiential ambition of the National Gallery of Australia’s new major exhibition – which brings to Canberra more than 130 pieces from the Palace of Versailles – it must surely be “immersive”. |
| Approaches to the institution “show” are fast evolving, thanks to digitisation and a growing introspection among public collectors, but, when it comes to the blockbuster gallery exhibition, Versailles: Treasures from the Palace may yet set a benchmark. This is an engagement (tactile, visual, aural – even olfactory) of sensibility; a big-ticket, mega-publicity exhibition replete with celebrity endorsement, whose curatorial tactics amplify an intriguing political, social and artistic story at its core. | Approaches to the institution “show” are fast evolving, thanks to digitisation and a growing introspection among public collectors, but, when it comes to the blockbuster gallery exhibition, Versailles: Treasures from the Palace may yet set a benchmark. This is an engagement (tactile, visual, aural – even olfactory) of sensibility; a big-ticket, mega-publicity exhibition replete with celebrity endorsement, whose curatorial tactics amplify an intriguing political, social and artistic story at its core. |
| Many Australians know something of French history and have been going to France in hordes for over a century. In the past few years we couldn’t escape the (laboured) story of shared French-Australian history, on the killing fields of the European western front. Still, by virtue of cultural and historical differences, and distance, staging Versailles in Canberra – rather than, say, London or Berlin – magnifies both its ambitions and challenges. | Many Australians know something of French history and have been going to France in hordes for over a century. In the past few years we couldn’t escape the (laboured) story of shared French-Australian history, on the killing fields of the European western front. Still, by virtue of cultural and historical differences, and distance, staging Versailles in Canberra – rather than, say, London or Berlin – magnifies both its ambitions and challenges. |
| It is tempting to hunt down Australian angles through the paintings, sculptures, furniture pieces and assorted precious objects, to find relevance for an audience down under – but there’s really no need to. | It is tempting to hunt down Australian angles through the paintings, sculptures, furniture pieces and assorted precious objects, to find relevance for an audience down under – but there’s really no need to. |
| For the story of Versailles – of its opulence, decadence, glamour and utter indulgence; of the reigns of the three kings Louis and Marie Antoinette; and as the stage for the opening act of the French Revolution – resonates no matter where you live. | For the story of Versailles – of its opulence, decadence, glamour and utter indulgence; of the reigns of the three kings Louis and Marie Antoinette; and as the stage for the opening act of the French Revolution – resonates no matter where you live. |
| To revert to old journo-speak, Versailles is just a cracking yarn and here it is told close to faultlessly. | To revert to old journo-speak, Versailles is just a cracking yarn and here it is told close to faultlessly. |
| NGA director Gerard Vaughan explains how his exclusive blockbuster grew from Canberra’s close bilateral friendship with Paris. Specifically, informal diplomatic conversations about French fondness for Australia led to an unprecedented offer from one court centre, the Palace of Versailles, of a large-scale loan to a constructed capital: Canberra. | NGA director Gerard Vaughan explains how his exclusive blockbuster grew from Canberra’s close bilateral friendship with Paris. Specifically, informal diplomatic conversations about French fondness for Australia led to an unprecedented offer from one court centre, the Palace of Versailles, of a large-scale loan to a constructed capital: Canberra. |
| This show may not appeal to purists. But Vaughan wants the broader public here to perhaps gain a new understanding of a distant culture and, not least, to have a good time. High culture as entertainment is, after all, a primary function of a publicly funded institution such as the National Gallery. | This show may not appeal to purists. But Vaughan wants the broader public here to perhaps gain a new understanding of a distant culture and, not least, to have a good time. High culture as entertainment is, after all, a primary function of a publicly funded institution such as the National Gallery. |
| “We want people to come out feeling that they’ve learnt something and that it’s also been enjoyable – that they’ve had a good time,” he says. “With a blockbuster – you know, you want your blockbusters to be popular and we accept that people have leisure choices and one of them is coming to see an exhibition like this. | “We want people to come out feeling that they’ve learnt something and that it’s also been enjoyable – that they’ve had a good time,” he says. “With a blockbuster – you know, you want your blockbusters to be popular and we accept that people have leisure choices and one of them is coming to see an exhibition like this. |
| “And if it was a very, very detailed exhibition about – I don’t know – the iconography of some aspect of baroque painting. You wouldn’t necessarily expect the man in the street to turn up and get something out of it ... But we want this one to be something that everyone thinks, ‘Wow, that’s amazing’.” | “And if it was a very, very detailed exhibition about – I don’t know – the iconography of some aspect of baroque painting. You wouldn’t necessarily expect the man in the street to turn up and get something out of it ... But we want this one to be something that everyone thinks, ‘Wow, that’s amazing’.” |
| The story of Versailles begins in the early 1660s when the young Louis XIV – who would eventually acquire total monarchical control – began building a place around his father’s modest hunting lodge outside Paris. Meanwhile, Louis’ superintendent of finances, Nicolas Fouquet, embezzled state income to build himself a vast modern mansion, Vaux-le-Vicomte, on the grounds. He threw a housewarming for 6000 guests, unwisely inviting as guest of honour Louis XIV – who responded by sequestering the estate. | The story of Versailles begins in the early 1660s when the young Louis XIV – who would eventually acquire total monarchical control – began building a place around his father’s modest hunting lodge outside Paris. Meanwhile, Louis’ superintendent of finances, Nicolas Fouquet, embezzled state income to build himself a vast modern mansion, Vaux-le-Vicomte, on the grounds. He threw a housewarming for 6000 guests, unwisely inviting as guest of honour Louis XIV – who responded by sequestering the estate. |
| Versailles grew, becoming the centre of court (though not the capital) and home to the three kings Louis (XIV, XV and XVI), their lovers and their queens, most famously Marie Antoinette. | Versailles grew, becoming the centre of court (though not the capital) and home to the three kings Louis (XIV, XV and XVI), their lovers and their queens, most famously Marie Antoinette. |
| Yes, it is an obscene testimony to royal excess. But through its architecture, landscape design, commissioned furniture and artworks, its 300 outdoor sculptures and 2000 water jets servicing hundreds of fountains, Versailles also showcased cutting-edge French culture, taste and artistry over some 130 years. | Yes, it is an obscene testimony to royal excess. But through its architecture, landscape design, commissioned furniture and artworks, its 300 outdoor sculptures and 2000 water jets servicing hundreds of fountains, Versailles also showcased cutting-edge French culture, taste and artistry over some 130 years. |
| Water was scarce. But Louis XIV, the Sun King (so named for his adoration of Apollo and related iconography), developed hydraulics that made the greatest advance in water supply since the Roman empire. | Water was scarce. But Louis XIV, the Sun King (so named for his adoration of Apollo and related iconography), developed hydraulics that made the greatest advance in water supply since the Roman empire. |
| As Beatrix Saule and Helene Delalex write in the appropriately opulent exhibition catalogue: “Water, though in short supply, played a part that no other wonder could rival ... the fountaineers were instructed to signal to one another with whistles on the king’s approach so that the valves could be opened then closed once he had passed.” | As Beatrix Saule and Helene Delalex write in the appropriately opulent exhibition catalogue: “Water, though in short supply, played a part that no other wonder could rival ... the fountaineers were instructed to signal to one another with whistles on the king’s approach so that the valves could be opened then closed once he had passed.” |
| Versailles is not an exhibition about the French Revolution. Indeed it stops with the arrest and eviction of Louis XVI and Antoinette in 1789, the seminal moment being the Parisian women’s march upon the Petit Trianon (where Antoinette – “Madame Deficit” – entertained and played harp). This, of course, was before the eradication of the monarchy and the terror ... and the guillotine. | Versailles is not an exhibition about the French Revolution. Indeed it stops with the arrest and eviction of Louis XVI and Antoinette in 1789, the seminal moment being the Parisian women’s march upon the Petit Trianon (where Antoinette – “Madame Deficit” – entertained and played harp). This, of course, was before the eradication of the monarchy and the terror ... and the guillotine. |
| But, after experiencing Versailles, you’ll retain little wonder as to why the peasants were in revolt. | But, after experiencing Versailles, you’ll retain little wonder as to why the peasants were in revolt. |
| Antoinette’s harp is on display, along with two candelabra from the Hall of Mirrors (the palace insisted to take just one would be wrong), the actual 1.5 tonne fountain sculpture, Latana, and many portraits (a Who’s Who of guillotine victims), precious objects and bespoke furniture items. | Antoinette’s harp is on display, along with two candelabra from the Hall of Mirrors (the palace insisted to take just one would be wrong), the actual 1.5 tonne fountain sculpture, Latana, and many portraits (a Who’s Who of guillotine victims), precious objects and bespoke furniture items. |
| The atmosphere of the NGA, meanwhile, is redolent with the sounds of the Brandenburg orchestra and a scent made by master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian, who based it on Louis XIV’s favourite orange blossom. It incorporates still photography and video, with the Australian artist Tina Arena – a resident of France for 15 years – as the exhibition’s global ambassador. | The atmosphere of the NGA, meanwhile, is redolent with the sounds of the Brandenburg orchestra and a scent made by master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian, who based it on Louis XIV’s favourite orange blossom. It incorporates still photography and video, with the Australian artist Tina Arena – a resident of France for 15 years – as the exhibition’s global ambassador. |
| There are some Australian connections, too. Besides flushing out from a private Australian collection a portrait of Antoinette painted at Versailles, the exhibition includes Nicholas Andre Monsiau’s painting, Louis XVI giving instructions to La Perouse. Jean-Francais La Perouse, the French south Pacific explorer, arrived in Botany Bay soon after Arthur Phillip before depositing his specimens with the English captain and sailing into oblivion. | There are some Australian connections, too. Besides flushing out from a private Australian collection a portrait of Antoinette painted at Versailles, the exhibition includes Nicholas Andre Monsiau’s painting, Louis XVI giving instructions to La Perouse. Jean-Francais La Perouse, the French south Pacific explorer, arrived in Botany Bay soon after Arthur Phillip before depositing his specimens with the English captain and sailing into oblivion. |
| A fanatic of maps and exploration, Louis was said to have inquired en route to the guillotine: “Has anyone heard anything further of Monsieur La Perouse?” | A fanatic of maps and exploration, Louis was said to have inquired en route to the guillotine: “Has anyone heard anything further of Monsieur La Perouse?” |
| It’s a reminder of how France’s empire was being stubbed out just as Britain’s was imposing its own tyranny on this continent. | It’s a reminder of how France’s empire was being stubbed out just as Britain’s was imposing its own tyranny on this continent. |
| Gallery director Vaughan says: “For me one of the most interesting things about this exhibition is the way you can absorb all of the aesthetic ideas, the enthusiasms and the tastes over about 150 years ... We can trace the style and tastes of the different reigns. | Gallery director Vaughan says: “For me one of the most interesting things about this exhibition is the way you can absorb all of the aesthetic ideas, the enthusiasms and the tastes over about 150 years ... We can trace the style and tastes of the different reigns. |
| “It’s like everybody – you don’t like your parents’ furniture and you probably don’t have it in your house, and they didn’t like their parents’ furniture. So every few decades there’d be a shift in taste.” | “It’s like everybody – you don’t like your parents’ furniture and you probably don’t have it in your house, and they didn’t like their parents’ furniture. So every few decades there’d be a shift in taste.” |
| It is a sensory treat, educative and entertaining. But Versailles: Treasures from the Palace is also freighted with heavy political charge, at every turn reminding us just why the French Revolution happened. A remarkable curatorial achievement. | It is a sensory treat, educative and entertaining. But Versailles: Treasures from the Palace is also freighted with heavy political charge, at every turn reminding us just why the French Revolution happened. A remarkable curatorial achievement. |
| • Versailles: Treasures from the Palace will run at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, until 17 April 2017 | • Versailles: Treasures from the Palace will run at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, until 17 April 2017 |