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The representation of history in the collections of the Museum of the Palace of Versailles

La représentation de l’histoire au sein des collections du musée de Versailles

La representación de la historia en las colecciones del museo de Versalles

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Published on Wednesday, May 18, 2022

Abstract

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As part of its research programme “The representation of history in the collections of the Museum of the Palace of Versailles” (2017-…), the Centre de recherche du château de Versailles wishes to publish articles related to this subject on the Bulletin du Centre de recherche du château de Versailles. Five themes will contribute to the ideas about ways in which these galleries can be made more accessible to the public. Indeed, in spite of its gaps, this collection offers strong evidence of a specific view of the history of France that the Museum of the Palace of Versailles should analyse and question today.

Announcement

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Argument

Louis-Philippe’s History Galleries in Versailles, planned in 1833 and inaugurated in 1837, continued to be enriched up until the Fourth Republic. The collections contain 7,000 paintings (including 1,200 historical scenes) and 1,500 sculptures.

Dismantled in 1892, when Pierre de Nolhac became curator of the Museum of the Palace of Versailles, only certain sections of the History Galleries were open to the public during the 20th century. A major architectural and museographic refurbishment is planned to start in 2022 as part of the master plan of the Établissement public de Versailles. It is preceded by a research programme to prepare and orientate the museographic project to reorganise the collections of the History Galleries.

Research themes

Five themes will contribute to the ideas about ways in which these galleries can be made more accessible to the public. Indeed, in spite of its gaps, this collection offers strong evidence of a specific view of the history of France that the Museum of the Palace of Versailles should analyse and question today.

I. Prefigurations of the History Galleries of Versailles: representing the history of France

  • Choice and representation of the great men of the 18th century: what were the models for the History Galleries?
  • Alexandre Lenoir and the Museum of French Monuments
  • The representation of national history before the museum (processes of representation, major commissions for the Louvre Museum, interest in national history in the 18th century, etc.)

II. A museum in a residence: presentation strategies

  • Versailles, a predestined site
  • Museographic stances: which collections for which spaces?
  • Visiting the History Galleries, from Louis-Philippe to the present day
  • Contemporary reinventions: the rearrangement of the History Galleries after the Second Empire

III. Visions of history in France and in Europe

  • Showcasing the great collections created in the 19th century: from major municipal programmes to history museums, reflecting French inspiration in Europe
  • From the National Portrait Gallery to the Deutsches Historisches Museum: history museums in Europe

IV. Current developments in the historiography and iconography of the History Galleries of Versailles

  • The view of the Middle Ages: what remains?
  • The place of Louis XIV: the genius loci for today, just as it was in the era of Louis-Philippe
  • The place of the Empire in the museum: collections with Napoleonic subjects between contemporary works and retrospective works
  • The portrait series in the 19th century
  • History as an aid to national reconciliation

V. Reinventing the History Galleries of Versailles in the 21st century

  • A talk on the history of art through the representation of history
  • On the fringes of military history: celebrating civil merit
  • The hero, the genius and the saint: what is the place of these figures in the 21st century?
  • History Galleries and education: from school textbooks to the collective imagination
  • The national gesture and the audiences of today

Submission guidelines and evaluation procedures

Article proposals must be submitted to bastien.coulon@chateauversailles.fr

before 31 December 2022

The articles will first be examined by the Scientific Committee of the programme, and if they are selected, they will be evaluated by two experts. A summary will be sent to the author with one of the following recommendations: unconditional acceptance, conditional acceptance, conditional rejection, outright rejection.

Authors must provide:

  • Author(s)’s name and surname, institutional affiliation, email address;
  • Complete article of about 40,000 characters (final bibliography and footnotes included), respecting the presentation standards of the Bulletin (see the “Recommendations to authors”);
  • An abbreviated curriculum vitae.

Authors with a draft article can submit their proposal in the form of an abstract of approximately 5,000 characters which will be examined by the Scientific Committee. If the proposal is accepted, the article once completed will be evaluated by two experts and the author will receive the synthesis with the final decision.

Proposals can be submitted in the following languages: French, English, German, Italian, Spanish.

Editorial committee

  • Alexandre Maral, Director of the Centre de recherche du château de Versailles
  • Mathieu da Vinha, Scientific Director of the Centre de recherche du château de Versailles

Scientific director

  • Chantal Grell, Professor of Modern History, université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.

Research program coordinator

  • Bastien Coulon, Researcher Officer, Centre de recherche du château de Versailles (since 03-2020).

Team

  • Lionel Arsac, Curator at the Department of Sculptures, musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon;
  • Laurent Avezou, Professor of History, Lycée Pierre-de-Fermat in Toulouse (preparatory class for the École des chartes);
  • Arnaud Bertinet, Lecturer in Heritage history and visual archives, université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne;
  • Philippe Boutry, President, université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (2017/09-2020);
  • Matilde-Maria Cassandro-Malphettes, Art Historian, General Secretary, Centre de recherche du château de Versailles (2017/01-2021);
  • Laurent Cazes, Research program coordinator, Centre de recherche du château de Versailles (09-2018/12-2019);
  • Mathieu da Vinha, Scientific Director, Centre de recherche du château de Versailles;
  • Nicole Garnier, General curator for Heritage, musée Condé;
  • Gwenola Firmin, Chief Heritage curator at the Paint department, musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon;
  • Grégoire Franconie, Doctor of History, Associate Researcher at the Centre d’histoire du XIXe siècle, université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne;
  • Thomas W. Gaehtgens, Director emeritus, Getty Research Institute;
  • Barthélemy Jobert, Professor of Art History, Sorbonne Université;
  • Frédéric Lacaille, Chief Heritage curator at the Paint department, musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon;
  • Éric Landgraf, Doctoral Student, Centre d’Histoire culturelle des sociétés contemporaines, université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines;
  • Jean-Marie Le Gall, Professor of Modern History, université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne;
  • Jean-Michel Leniaud, Director of studies, École Pratique des Hautes Études;
  • Alexandre Maral, Director, Centre de recherche du château de Versailles; General curator for Heritage at the Sculpture department, musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon;
  • Olivier Matteoni, Professor of Medieval History, université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne ;
  • Laurent Salomé, Director, musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon;
  • Gérard Sabatier, Professor Emeritus of Universities;
  • Béatrice Sarrazin, General curator for Heritage at the Paint department, musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon;
  • Élodie Vaysse, Curator at the Paint department, musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon.

Places

  • Versailles, France (78000)

Date(s)

  • Saturday, December 31, 2022

Keywords

  • Versailles, galerie historique, histoire, Louis-Philippe, monarchie de Juillet, musée

Contact(s)

  • Bastien Coulon
    courriel : bastien [dot] coulon [at] chateauversailles [dot] fr

Information source

  • Alexandra Pioch
    courriel : alexandra [dot] pioch [at] chateauversailles [dot] fr

License

CC0-1.0 This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.

To cite this announcement

« The representation of history in the collections of the Museum of the Palace of Versailles », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Wednesday, May 18, 2022, https://doi.org/10.58079/18wo

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