SPORTIEST

ARTS&ATTRACTIONS
Exhibitions
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From the Frontlines
Within the context of events and celebrations marking the Great War, La Bibliothéque de
Documentation Internationale Contemporaine and the Musée de l’Armée have joined
together to present an exhibition at Hôtel des Invalides of pictorial representations from
those who were actually on the front underscoring how they saw, perceived and represented
the war front from the beginning to the end of the conflict. An exceptional ensemble of
some 500 works has been brought together, works produced on the front by the ensemble
of the warring parties, showing the European fronts as well as those of the Near East, the
Dardanelles and the Balkans. The powerful, evocative works exhibited in the show were
created by those who lived through the conflict and some among them were celebrated like
Maurice Denis, Félix Vallotton, Guillaume Apollinaire, Fernand Léger and Otto Dix.
Through January 25th
Hôtel des Invalides, 129 rue de Grenelle (7th), 01 44 42 38 77
From Fontainebleau’s
Fabulous Furnishings
The Chateau of Fontainebleau is one of the great castles of France and is the only royal and
imperial chateau to have been inhabited continuously for seven centuries by the monarchs
and rulers of the land. Its décor, works of art and furniture are exceptional and lavish. Today, a
celebrated piece is being exhibited to the public, known as the Odyssey Cabinet, it is a piece
that has decorated the Grand Apartments since the Second Empire. For the exhibition, which
runs through January 26th, the 17th century cabinet’s doors are opened to reveal inside
secret drawers and compartments
ornamented with rich themes based
on Ulysses and Alexander the Great.
Additional works and a multi-media
display complement the focus on
the cabinet. The great Renaissance
king François I whose reign began
500 years ago in 1515, was one of
the monarchs to enjoy the royal
apartments at Fontainebleau and
commissioned what is considered
today to be one of the finest
Renaissance decorations in France,
the Gallery of François I, in and of itself
worth a visit to the castle.
Fontainebleau 77300, 01 60 71 50 70
Félix Vallotton, Le Cimetière militaire de Châlons, 1917, Nanterre, Bibliothèque de documentation internationale contemporain; The Odyssey Cabinet Photo © RMN - Grand Palais - Adrien Didierjean
50 WHERE PARIS I JANUARY 2015