Living Denon or the Soul of the Louvre.
South Acts| N° d'inventaire | 22953 |
| Format | 11.5 x 21.5 |
| Détails | 304 p., paperback. |
| Publication | Paris, 2017 |
| Etat | Nine |
| ISBN | 9782330047245 |
The singularity of Vivant Denon (1747-1825) is to be plural in all things. Multiple talents, diverse professions, incessant travels shaped not one life but "lives". Thus, biographies dedicated to him were not lacking until the 1990s. However, since then, two major archival sources have appeared and shed new light on Denon's life: the Lettres à Bettine (Actes Sud, 1999) reveal the well-kept secret of a lasting love, and penetrate the psychology of the man; his Correspondance administrative allows us to follow day by day the prodigious work of the protector of the arts during the reign of Napoleon I. Built on the systematic analysis of these letters, this essay is intended as an "interview" with Denon. Together, they offer a completely new portrait of the man and his creative activity. Mysterious, elusive, disconcerting, surprising, secretive, this man steeped in the encyclopedic humanism of the 18th century made his life a prodigious adventure guided by genius and talent. From the engraving workshop to the fires of combat, from Paris to Luxor and the European capitals, he knew everything about the men and events of his time. His true moral and artistic legacy has been given to the nation. Without him, we would have neither the current Louvre, nor the first Egyptian research, nor the Vendôme Column, and the Versailles Museum would not house the pictorial iconography of the First Empire whose commissions he had inspired.
The singularity of Vivant Denon (1747-1825) is to be plural in all things. Multiple talents, diverse professions, incessant travels shaped not one life but "lives". Thus, biographies dedicated to him were not lacking until the 1990s. However, since then, two major archival sources have appeared and shed new light on Denon's life: the Lettres à Bettine (Actes Sud, 1999) reveal the well-kept secret of a lasting love, and penetrate the psychology of the man; his Correspondance administrative allows us to follow day by day the prodigious work of the protector of the arts during the reign of Napoleon I. Built on the systematic analysis of these letters, this essay is intended as an "interview" with Denon. Together, they offer a completely new portrait of the man and his creative activity. Mysterious, elusive, disconcerting, surprising, secretive, this man steeped in the encyclopedic humanism of the 18th century made his life a prodigious adventure guided by genius and talent. From the engraving workshop to the fires of combat, from Paris to Luxor and the European capitals, he knew everything about the men and events of his time. His true moral and artistic legacy has been given to the nation. Without him, we would have neither the current Louvre, nor the first Egyptian research, nor the Vendôme Column, and the Versailles Museum would not house the pictorial iconography of the First Empire whose commissions he had inspired.