Diplomatic World_nummer 55

Chaïm Soutine
© Pinacothèque de Paris
La Folle, c. 1919, Oil on canvas, 87 x 65,1 cm
Chaïm Soutine
© Pinacothèque de Paris
Le Bœuf, c. 1920, Oil on canvas, 81 x 50 cm
74
I can imagine there is a lot of pressure on the
experts when they start the valuation of a piece.
I am sure you have a sound understanding of your
responsibility towards this matter. How do you cope
with this pressure?
The pressure is enormous and it is important to protect
yourself from it. To control it means to focus on the
research, by studying the painting and performing the
scientific research in the laboratory, but most importantly
by not listening to all the players of the art market. Auction
houses, art dealers in the secondary market, or commercial
agents have no idea about the time needed for thorough
research and making a good evaluation. Sometimes others
have a hard time understanding what I do during my
scientific research.
How come you became so passionate about art, as a
student, and still to this day? Is passion a conditio
sine qua non for you in your daily practice?
In the world of arts, without passion nothing is possible
in the long run. Art has been my life since I was a child. I
was raised in an intellectual and artistic environment where
my grand-father was a painter, my brother a musician, and
another brother a historian, professor and writer of a large
oeuvre of books. I myself am above all a historian and art
historian. Surrounded by paintings and artworks, I was
immersed as a youngster in this world of the arts and rich
culture and finally became a professional. Before entering
the world of museums, I spent 15 years at La Sorbonne in
Paris as a student and teacher. I started as a director in a
state-controlled institution and later in my own museum,
La Pinacothèque de Paris, to develop my own programming
and to install my vision. All of this can only be achieved
with passion; a passion that sometimes makes you do crazy
things, jump and cross borders.
How do you approach an exhibition as a curator?
Could you define your curatorial style?
I would like to define it as universal and transversal. I was
one of the first in my field to experience the closing of
the gaps between different forms and practices of art and
culture. Today this has become evident, but already in 2003
I was talking about a transversal and universal vision, even
before the Louvre at Abu Dhabi was considered. I was also
one of the first to include ‘Wunderkammers’, or cabinets
of curiosity in a museum presentation at the Pinacoteca in
Paris in 2011. The instalment and presentation of light and
colour in combination with the montage of the artworks
are defining for this vision. Since the 1950s museums
completely forgot to create dialogues and confrontations
between artworks, which is something I have always
incorporated.
Bruno Devos & Marc Restellini