Funding for the construction of the Louvre-Lens Museum has come from the European Union, the regional authorities and primarily from the Nord – Pas-de-Calais Regional Council. The Louvre-Lens Museum demonstrates a willingness to place a strong and ambitious cultural programme right at the heart of a positive regional venture.
The Louvre-Lens Museum is co-financed by the European Union. Europe is committed to Nord – Pas-de-Calais through the European Regional Development Fund.
This book has been published as part of the exhibition Galerie du Temps at the Louvre-Lens Museum; it has been updated and takes into account the new works included in the exhibition as from December . The exhibition the Galerie du Temps has been organised by the Louvre Museum, Paris, and the Louvre-Lens Museum. The Grande Galerie has been constructed with the patronage of Crédit Agricole Nord de France.
In application of the French law of March (article ) and the Code of Intellectual Property of July , all partial or total reproduction for collective purposes of this work is strictly forbidden without the explicit permission of the publisher. In this regard, it is reminded that abusive and collective use of photocopying is a risk for the economic balance of the circuits of book production. © Musée du Louvre-Lens, Lens © Somogy éditions d’art, Paris for the first edition for the fifth edition www.louvrelens.fr www.somogy.fr ISBN Musée du Louvre-Lens : ---- ISBN Somogy éditions d’art : ---- Dépôt légal : January Printed in Czech republic (European Union)
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LOUVRE LENS THE GUIDE Xavier Dectot Jean-Luc Martinez Vincent Pomarède
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The patrons and partners of the Louvre-Lens Museum Principal Sponsors Crédit Agricole Nord de France Veolia Environnement Major Sponsors Auchan Nexans Caisse d’Épargne Nord France Europe Key Partners Orange Caisse des Dépôts SNCF Partners Trend Française de Mécanique AG2R La Mondiale Fondation d’entreprise Total Vitra Groupe Sia Crédit du Nord CCI de région Nord de France Dupont Restauration Maisons et Cités With the participation of the Compagnons du Devoir et du Tour de France for the manufacture of the furniture in the picnic area
Exhibition Curators of the Galerie du Temps: Jean-Luc Martinez and Vincent Pomarède Design: Studio Adrien Gardère Louvre-Lens Museum Chairman of the Board of Directors: Jean-Luc Martinez Director: Marie Lavandier General administrator: Catherine Ferrar Head of the conservation service: Luc Piralla Researcher and exhibition supervisor: Anne-Sophie Haegeman Public mediation: Juliette Guépratte Multimedia: Guilaine Legeay Organisation and administration: Raphaëlle Baume, Caroline Chenu, Anne Sarosy and Samuel Percq Louvre Museum President-director: Jean-Luc Martinez General administrator: Karim Mouttalib Assistant general administrator: Valérie Forey Lenders of the exhibition pieces The pieces exhibited in the Galerie du Temps all come from the eight departments of the Louvre Museum Display design Designer: Studio Adrien Gardère (project leader: Lucie Dorel / Mathieu Muin) Lighting: ACL. Conception lumière Display cases: Goppion Graphics: Norm Mounting: Version bronze Installation: André Chenue S.A.
Publication Louvre-Lens Museum Editorial coordination and iconography: Charles-Hilaire Valentin Somogy éditions d’art Publishing director: Nicolas Neumann Graphic design: Loïc Levêque Adaptation and layout: Larissa Roy Editorial coordination: Marie-Astrid Pourchet Translation from French to English: Timothy Stroud Editorial contribution: Katharine Turvey Technical production: Béatrice Bourgerie and Mélanie Le Gros
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
From the very start this project was instigated and carried out by the Nord – Pas-de-Calais region and the Louvre Museum. Both teams must be warmly thanked for their constant dedication and involvement. Special gratitude must also be extended to those who first worked on the overall conception of the Galerie du Temps: Elisabeth Taburet-Delahaye, Jean-Marc Legrand, Olivier Meslay, Marielle Pic and Danièle Brochu. Particular mention should be made of those who have been closely involved with the development of the museum since its inception: at the Louvre, Claudia Ferrazzi, Valérie Forey, Katia Lamey and Catherine Sueur; at the Région Nord – Pas-deCalais, Yves Duruflé, Didier Personne, Jérôme Darras, B ernard Masset, G illes Pette, Elvire Percheron. The Louvre-Lens teams have been formed since 2011 and recognition is due to their constructive and ongoing efforts. The Research and Restoration Centre of the Musées de France was a vital partner during the early stage of the project and we would like to express our appreciation to all its personnel.
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Following pages: The Louvre Museum in Paris, aerial view The Louvre-Lens Museum, aerial view, looking south-north (computer generated image)
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CONTENTS
Foreword, Jean-Luc Martinez
THE MUSEUM, Xavier Dectot
THE GALERIE DU TEMPS
ANTIQUITY, Jean-Luc Martinez
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A Territory Like No Other Alike Yet Different, the Louvre-Lens
Introduction, Xavier Dectot
Antiquity in the Collections of the Louvre Museum THE ORIGINS OF ANCIENT CIVILISATIONS (4TH AND 3RD MILLENNIA BC) The Birth of Writing in Mesopotamia The Origins of Egyptian Civilisation The Rise of Mediterranean Civilisations THE TIME OF THE GREAT EASTERN EMPIRES (2000–500 BC) The Ancient Near East in the Time of Babylon Egypt of the Great Temples City-States of the Mediterranean The Assyrian Empire The Twilight of Ancient Egypt The Persian Empire A GREEK AND ROMAN WORLD (500 BC–476 AD) Classical Greece The World of Alexander the Great The Roman Empire
THE MIDDLE AGES, Jean-Luc Martinez and Vincent Pomarède
THE MODERN ERA, Vincent Pomarède
The Middle Ages in the Collections of the Louvre Museum Eastern Christianity: the Byzantine Empire Western Christianity: the First Churches The Emergence of Islamic Civilisation Encounters between Italy, Byzantium and Islam in the West Gothic Europe The Islamic Golden Age in the Near East Encounters between East and West
The Modern Era in the Collections of the Louvre Museum The Renaissance Three Modern Islamic Empires Arts of the Court Baroque Europe French Classicism The Enlightenment Neoclassical Movements Islam and Western Art in the 19th Century On the 1830 Revolution: Art and Power in France
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FOREWORD
Jean-Luc Martinez President of the Louvre Museum
Already four years have passed since 4 December 2012 and the opening of the Louvre-Lens. Each anniversary is a moving occasion: to watch this museum root itself in its territory, and the public make return visits as they become increasingly focused on discovering and rediscovering the works, is an enormously gratifying experience for all those at the Louvre and elsewhere who were involved in the creation of this museum. Much has been accomplished in these four years by the young Louvre-Lens team, and we can be proud that the initial objectives have been achieved: however, more so than the number of visitors that we have welcomed (over two million people), it is the high regard in which the museum is held and the diversity of its visitors that are so rewarding. The first exhibitions and events allowed the museum to get to know its various publics and understand their expectations. The success attained confirmed the relevance of the combination of artistic and scientific excellence with an ambitious visitor infor-mation programme suited to all ages and backgrounds. It is remarkable that more than half of the Louvre-Lens’s visitors come from the local region and neighbouring countries, Belgium in particular, and are more diversified than those of any other museum. The Louvre-Lens’s fifth year, 2017, will mark a new era for this young museum, which will be plac-ing emphasis on rigorous standards and democratization. Democratization lies at the heart of this public project, and the Louvre-Lens will continue its efforts to win new visitors and build loyalty among those who already know the museum. With regard to high standards, these will be mirrored in an exem-
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plary presentation of the collections of the Louvre in the Galerie du Temps. For the fourth consecu-tive year, fifty-four new masterpieces will be presented in the museum, replacing those that will return to the galleries of the Palais du Louvre in Paris. This rotation, which respects the chronological presentation of the works in the Galerie, is very representative of the wealth of the Louvre collections. Among these new works are: a new mosaic and an entire marble décor that conjure up the luxury of Roman villas; a completely refreshed presentation of the arts of Islam at the time when, together with the Arab World Institute, the Louvre is assisting in showing these cultures in a new light in Tourcoing; the striking encounter of the painting of Charles Le Brun with the sculpture of the tomb of Cardinal de Bérulle; a new Rembrandt – the mysterious and very famous Philosopher in Meditation; the Portrait of the Painter Joseph Vernet by Vigée Le Brun, the famous woman portraitist of Marie-Antoinette. These are some of the important new additions in the Galerie du Temps for the year 2017. The museum’s cultural offering has also flourished over the last four years and will continue to do so. In 2017, following the success of the great exhibition devoted to a civilisation, “History Begins in Mesopotamia”, this spring the seventeenth century will be the focus of attention. The Le Nain brothers from Laon will remind us what French art owes to this region, which was the setting for the encounter between the traditions of Flanders and the daring innovations that issued from Italy, and it is into the heart of this Le Nain “mystery” that we will plunge
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with the exceptional gathering in one place of the rare paintings of these brothers, whose famous representations of peasants haunt the imaginations of French schoolchildren. Then we will again travel to Antiquity to experience “music and sounds”, an original exhibition on the place of music in ancient cultures. La Scène will pursue its vibrant programme open to all publics in partnership with the theatres and theatrical companies of the region. Lastly, Behind the Scenes – the visits to the museum’s technical department and reserves, unique in France – will be broadened to welcome the public to the restoration workshops, where they will be able to witness and learn about this essential step in the life of a work of art. The Louvre-Lens has become a recognised local, national and international institution. Through its partnerships with European museums, it has asserted itself as a fundamental establishment in Europe. In a region that boasts a great many museums, it has succeeded in taking its place in this local network by displaying regional collections in the Pavillon de verre, offering one of its neighbouring curators carte blanche. The Louvre-Lens will continue to operate on this twin-level network with new projects in the years to come. We can be sure that, by combining high standards with an open spirit, this new stage in the life of the Louvre-Lens will allow the museum to pursue its adventure and the public of the new region of Hauts-de-France, and further afield, to enjoy more rewarding and inspiring encounters with masterpieces from the history of art.
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THE MUSEUM
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A TERRITORY LIKE NO OTHER Xavier Dectot
The Louvre-Lens is a museum in every aspect, combining all the universality of the Louvre with all the richness of its host territory. The history of Nord – Pas-de-Calais has heavily marked the region and is consubstantial with its identity. It all began almost three hundred years ago in the part of the Hainaut annexed by France following the Treaties of Nijmegen. In 1716 Viscount Jacques Désandrouin obtained authorisation from the king to investigate whether the vein of coal known to exist north of the border continued into France. His discovery of it at Fresnes-sur-Escaut provided the spark for the first coalmining activity, in which the company Anzin played the leading role. The Industrial Revolution increasingly stoked the demand for coal but it was not until the mid-19th century that it was discovered that in Pas-de-Calais the vein curved along an eastwest axis. This moment marked the change in destiny of the Gohelle area. Until that time, the Lens plain had been sparsely populated and was devoted primarily to agriculture in spite of its relatively unfertile soil but, with knowledge that it was entirely crossed by the coal vein, the Gohelle was transformed. Pit after pit was opened and the plain became entirely devoted to coal mining. The most important consequence of this transformation, much more so than the changing of place names (Bully-en-Gohelle became Bully-les-Mines), was the demographic explosion: from fewer than 3000 inhabitants in 1850, the population of Lens alone grew to more than 30,000 in 1913 and to over 40,000 in the 1960s. This increase relied greatly on immigration, initially from within France and from Wallonie in Belgium, then from further away: Poles and Moroccans were the nationalities most widely represented in the mines.
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Even the organisation of the mining companies affected the territory. They implemented a system in which all social activities revolved around themselves: the inhabitants were grouped in communities linked to the pit in which they worked, where they were almost self-sufficient. Each family benefited from a patch of garden, health care, a church and schools. The entire system, from birth to death, operated for the benefit of and through the mine. The great depth of the mines made extraction of the coal less profitable than in other regions, increasingly so as other sources of energy were developed. The pits gradually closed during the 1960s and 70s, with the last surviving into the 1980s, but they marked the landscape in the long-term, creating astonishing skylines, slag heaps and, above all, endowing the agglomeration that built up along the entire length of the coal vein with its distinctive appearance, that of a succession of mining estates built during very different epochs. However, coal mining was not the only form of human violence that had an impact on this territory. The low hills of Artois are the only raised land between the Paris basin and the plain of Flanders and were a strategic location, particularly during World War I. After the three battles of Artois in 1914–15, the front remained stuck at the foot of Vimy ridge until it was captured in 1917. The towns at its foot, including Lens and Liévin, were almost completely destroyed, a fate that was repeated in World War II. The resulting appearance of these towns is a blend of a rich Art Deco heritage with more modern, often very utilitarian, architecture, such as the “Camus” buildings that constituted the reconstructed mining estates. An understanding of the value of the former coal
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ALIKE YET DIFFERENT, THE LOUVRE-LENS Xavier Dectot
North side: reception hall (in the centre). East view of the reception hall. Interior of the reception hall.
The architectural project The Louvre-Lens is closely linked with the territory in which it has been placed, first and foremost with the plot on which it has been installed. This is in fact an old pithead, the entry-point to Pits 9 and 9 bis operated by Mines de Lens, which has been raised a few metres above the surrounding terrain by the accumulation of shale. On the east side it is overlooked by a monument to sporting and mining history, the Bollaert stadium, built in 1932–33 by the mining company. To the north and south are two very different housing estates built for the mine workers. On one side, Saint-Théodore is a gardenestate built between the wars (like its neighbour, the estate Jeanne d’Arc). It is formed by streets of semi-detached houses with small, individual gardens and tree-lined avenues that create the impression of space. Beside the church in the centre of the village are two schools, one each for girls and boys. The regularity of the buildings is only broken opposite the entrance to the mine, where large houses inhabited by the upper echelons of the personnel (the engineer, assistant engineer, doctor and pharmacist) are ringed by walls and larger gardens. On the other side, by Pit 9 bis, the village was destroyed during World War II and reconstructed with prefabricated buildings. Quickly built, these were known as “Camus” after the engineer who devised them. These too are semi-detached and ringed by a garden but seem perhaps even more rational from an urbanplanning perspective. With regard to the pit itself, all that remained of it at the start of the 2000s was the badly damaged changing room and the stable, which had been transformed into a living space. Around it a small
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area had been turned into a business park but most of the 22 hectares had been abandoned and become overgrown. It was this extraordinary space in the middle of the agglomeration and very close to the railway station that the Louvre and Nord – Pas-de-Calais region offered to the imagination of the architects who wished to take part in the design competition. The winner, who was chosen in 2005, was the Japanese firm SANAA, created by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa (destined to win the Pritzker Prize in 2010) in partnership with Catherine Mosbach, Celia Imrey and Tim Culbert. One of the most remarkable aspects of their design is the maximal use of the available space through the creation of a park-museum rather than a museum set in a park. As such, visitors to the Louvre-Lens do not suddenly enter a museum but approach it gently through an expanse of greenery that both draws attention to the history of the site and encourages appropriation of the place. The mine is present but delicately and subtly so. The old haulageways, the railway tracks that carried the coal to the station and the shale to the slag heaps have been transformed into paths through the park and towards the museum. Certain plant species, pines in particular, recall the timber joists used to support the mining tunnels. Others attest the reappropriation of the site by nature. Thus, the west side has been colonised by a copse of birch trees; birches are known as pioneer trees because they are the first species to take up residence in a new space. Further evidence of nature taking back this plot is provided by the more discreet liquorice milk vetch (astragalus
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THE GALERIE DU TEMPS
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INTRODUCTION Xavier Dectot
The Grande Galerie is the heart of the Louvre-Lens. It is the setting for exhibitions designed to be displayed for five years, using works lent by the Louvre in Paris and is in a way the permanent collection of the museum in Lens. Like any permanent exhibition, however, it is not static: in Lens the presentations are affected by annual rotations that see some works leave and replaced by others. What makes the Galerie du Temps, the first exhibition to be held there, particularly original is its manner of presentation. Using the entire long gallery designed by SANAA, the elegant and ingenious layout devised by Studio Adrien Gardère presents the works chronologically in a single space. In consequence, works that in every encyclopaedic museum in the world are exhibited separately, as they come from different civilisations or were created using different techniques, are here placed alongside one another. And yet the world of the Mesopotamians and Persians was in permanent contact with the world of Greece and Egypt, and during the Middle Ages, just as in the 16th and 17th centuries, many artists habitually worked as painters, sculptors and specialists in other techniques. The Galerie du Temps therefore offers visitors a unique outlook on the history of art within the limits that are those of the Louvre: beginning with the invention of writing in Mesopotamia in the 4th millennium BC and ending with the Industrial Revolution in the mid-19th century, just when coal began to be mined in Lens.
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ANTIQUITY
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. Capitoline Hill, Rome, Italy c.AD – Marble Relief Showing Mithras, Iranian God of the Sun, Sacrificing the Bull H . x W . x D . m MR Borghese collection, purchase,
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THE MIDDLE AGES
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. Madinat al-Zahra (region of Cordoba), Spain c. Ivory Box (Pyxis) Decorated with Four Medallions H .; diam. . cm OA Gift of the Baron C Davillier,
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. Maragha, Iran c. Cuprous alloy, engraved decor Celestial Globe H x diam. cm MAO Donation,
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THE MODERN ERA
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