Yves Saint Laurent Pierre Bergé - Christie's

It is, however, the collective sumptuousness of the display – the layering of object upon
object – which struck the viewer, recalling the collections formed in the Renaissance
and Baroque periods in many of the royal courts of Europe. Although more eclectic in
its approach, the effect of this grouping of objects can be compared to such celebrated
Kunstkammers as that formed by Augustus the Strong in Dresden in the late 17th and
early 18th centuries, re-created today in the newly-restored Green Vaults.
For men such as Augustus, the visual display he created was meant to over-awe the
spectator. The subject matter of bronzes, cameos or ivories in his collection were taken
from a variety of sources, such as classical antiquity, and were intended to reflect his
cultural sophistication. The costly materials used, together with the sheer number of
pieces on display suggested great wealth. Objects which were commissioned locally
glorified the talent of local artists, and other pieces purchased abroad were an indication
that Augustus was moving on an international level.
The collection of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé was never intended to have a
similarly political agenda, housed as it was in the privacy of their homes. However, in
its lavishness and depth, the collection follows in the tradition of the studiolo of a
Medici Grand Duke or the great collections formed in the 19th century by men such
as Henry Clay Frick or J. Pierpont Morgan. And as it becomes, in our own time,
increasingly difficult to find objects of this sort of quality, the dispersal of the present
collection represents an unprecedented opportunity for today’s collectors.
174
Works of Art on display in the Dining Room, rue de Babylone
– Donald Johnston
International Director, Sculpture