Gazette Drouot - C apencheres

So we are putting the spotlight, in a way, on the work
of art historian and curator Arnauld Brejon de Lavergnée,
who, through his recent discoveries and some
incredible restoration work, has brought to light a
dozen pictures and painted cartoons unearthed in
the reserves of the Mobilier National. When he
arrived at the Gobelins, Mr. Brejon discovered several
paintings that had been totally abandoned and
forgotten; they consisted of preparatory paintings
executed by artists in the school of Le Brun, like Yvart,
Bonnemer and De Sève, under his supervision.
The painted cartoons are the same size as the tapestries:
some of the pieces are four metres long, or even
longer, completely rolled up and in a sorry state. The
challenge met by Les Gobelins and Le Mobilier
National was to stop the pictorial layer from peeling
off, and to consolidate the adhesion. This highly pertinent
work can be compared to our own missions:
every day, we try to restore value to "forgotten" paintings.
We also want to inspire a fresh taste for curiosity
in the younger members of the public! A catalogue
is to be published on these discoveries, and all
the proceeds will be donated to the Mobilier
National.
Jeff Koons was invited to talk about some works
from his collection. But you aren't doing the same
thing with another artist – why is that?
Our aim is not to institutionalise this approach, so as
not to focus public attention on a single artist, but we
have to admit that it involves a different way of
communicating. This type of event needs a lot of
preparatory work, which often turns out to be expensive…
So we can only do it from time to time.
However, I would be very keen to do it again if the
occasion arises, because several other artists are
collectors. It all depends whether they are willing to
part from their works, even for a short time.
There was talk of including art works worth more
than €50,000 into the calculation of the wealth tax:
what did you think of this?
For France's heritage this would have been disastrous,
of course. It seemed rather like a punishment,
and in my view would have been hard to apply.
MEETING THE MAGAZINE
What value can you actually give to works, given
that prices fluctuate from year to year? I think this is
a real problem for France and not only for French
heritage. Interview by Marie C. Aubert
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Paris Tableau, Palais de la Bourse, Place de la Bourse, Paris
75002, www.paristableau.com – 7 to 12 November,
11.00 – 20.00, late night opening on 8 November till 22.00.
Admission: €15 including free admission to the film shows.
www.paristableau.com
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Paris Tableau goes into films. Old Master paintings in the
seventh art: 9 and 10 November; showings at 14.00 and
17.00 in the auditorium.
Pietro Rotari (1707-1762), “Portrait de femme”, c. 1760,
45 x 35 cm. Gallery Didier Aaron.
N° 19 I GAZETTE DROUOT INTERNATIONAL
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