Where Paris - 01 December 2017

WHERE PARIS PROMOTION

© Noel aux Invalides 2016, production société Amaclio

H

oused in the Hôtel National des Invalides

that was built by Louis XIV, the Musée de

l’Armée, the national military museum of

France, is a unique institution in the heart

of Paris topped off by a glistening golden dome visible

throughout town. And from December 15th through

to December 31st, a unique event is being played out

at the Invalides, Christmas at the Invalides. The event

offers a rich programme of Christmas readings and

concerts in partnership with Radio Classique, the

Orchestre de la Nouvelle Europe and music from the

French Army. Special commentated visits, a spectacular

staging of the historic figurines in the Cabinets Insolites

and special visits for children and contests are all on the

agenda.

Every evening when night falls an illumination

show offers a light-filled musical production in the

Church of the Dôme with an exceptional staging of

hundreds of candles and candelabras surrounding the

tomb of Napoleon.

The museum in and of itself is home to

extraordinary and unique collections bringing

together arms, sumptuous formal state pieces and

recent military equipment reflecting the position

of new technologies in contemporary conflicts. It

is one of the five most visited museums in France

and through its collections one of the three leading

military museums in the world. And the structure also

houses the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The institution’s collections are bountiful, diverse

and emanate from myriad sources. Some 500,000

works, objects and documents dating from the Bronze

Age to the 21st century form the backbone of the

museum’s collections. Among the exceptional pieces

in the museum one finds the armour given to Louis

XIV by the Republic of Venice as well as that of Francis

1st, an object that gives an idea of the king’s incredible

height, estimated at 1.98 metres. Numerous objects,

arms, personal belongings and the coronation regalia

of Napoleon Bonaparte dating from the beginning of

his military career to his exile on Saint Helena are also

found within the collection.

A great draw is the Old Department, which

contains one of Europe’s major collections of weapons

and armour displaying this aspect of military history

from the 13th to the 17th centuries. The display, which

includes the Crown collections, is a chronological and

thematic presentation of arms and armour dating

from Saint Louis to Louis XIII. There is a remarkable

collection of medieval swords in a room devoted to

armour and arms from the 13th to the 15th century

while the Louis XIII room features arms and armours

related to the major figures of French history from

Francis I to Louis XIII.

129 rue de Grenelle (7th), 08 10 11 33 99

Music and Light at the

HÔTEL NATIONAL

DES INVALIDES

76 WHERE Paris i deceMBer 2017

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), Portrait de Françoise, 30 juin 1946, Crayons de couleur sur papier à dessin, 65,7 x 50,5 cm. Paris, musée national Picasso – Paris, Inv. MP1367 © RMN-Grand Palais (musée national Picasso - Paris) / Béatrice Hatala ©Succession Picasso, 2017; La Lecture (MP137), Pablo Picasso, 2 janvier 1932, Boisgeloup. Huile sur toile. Paris, musée national Picasso-Paris Photo © RMN-Grand Palais (musée national Picasso-Paris)/ Mathieu Rabeau © Succession Picasso 2017- Gestion droits d’auteur Fichier RMN : 16-516693

arts&attractions^

Exhibitions

t

wo exhibitions, one right in town and one in the nearby scenic

suburb of sceaux are showcasing the works of Pablo Picasso.

The department of the Hauts-de-seine is presenting, in collaboration with

the Musée National Picasso-Paris, an exhibition entitled Picasso devant la

Nature devoted to how the artist depicted nature in his work. The show is

being held at the Musée du domaine départmental de sceaux just outside

of Paris. Through some 80 works emanating from the Picasso museum

of Paris including paintings, drawings, engravings and documents, the

show proposes to demonstrate that nature is a powerful catalyst in the

imagination and creation of Picasso and not just a simple secondary decor.

He would say of nature, “it is not from her i work but before her, with

her.” The show, which opens with an explanatory video, revolves around

four major themes and is divided into six sections. The themes include

the representation of nature in his works, the use of natural elements in

his creations, the illustration of a major scientific work on nature, Buffon’s

Natural History, and the study of a particular motif, the woman-flower.

Meanwhile, at the Museum National Picasso-Paris, a show entitled Picasso

1932, the erotic Year, traces with chronological rigour, one year of creation

in the plethoric production of Pablo Picasso. The visitor is invited to

follow the creative process of Picasso in the year 1932, a year regarded as

being a particularly rich one in the artist’s career. The show organised by

the Musée Picasso (where it is being held) in conjunction with the Tate

Modern can be regarded as a reflexion on the artist’s famous expression,

“Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.”

among his landmark works of 1932 one finds Les baigneuses (The

Bathers), an on-going theme in his work as well as the colourful

compositions revolving around Marie-Thérèse Walter, Picasso’s mistress

and model from circa 1927 to 1935. in parallel to these sensual and

erotic works, the artist returned to the theme of The crucifixion while

Brassaï undertook a photo reportage in Picasso’s studio in Boisgeloup in

Normandy in december of the year in question.

Picasso devant la Nature

showing through to december 31st

Chateau du Domaine Départemental de Sceaux

8 ave Claude Perrault, 92330 Sceaux, 01 41 87 29 50

Picasso 1932, the erotic Year

showing through to February 11th

Musée Picasso

5 rue de Thorigny (3rd), 01 85 56 00 36

A Pair of Picassos