THE ROSE EMPIRE. Scenography by Mr Christian Lacroix. Exhibition from 28 March to 23 July Masterpieces of 19th-century Persian Art

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Press release Temporary exhibition Exhibition from 28 March to 23 July 2018 THE ROSE EMPIRE Masterpieces of 19th-century Persian Art Scenography by Mr Christian Lacroix The Louvre-Lens Museum is

This period is one of the most fascinating in the history of the country, one in which it embraced innovation and modernisation while still seeking to maintain its identity.

1 Press release Temporary exhibition Exhibition from 28 March to 23 July 2018 THE ROSE EMPIRE Masterpieces of 19th-century Persian Art Scenography by Mr Christian Lacroix The Louvre-Lens Museum is proud to present the very first retrospective in continental Europe dedicated to the magnificent art of the Qajar dynasty, the glorious sovereigns who ruled Iran from 1786 to This period is one of the most fascinating in the history of the country, one in which it embraced innovation and modernisation while still seeking to maintain its identity. The original and surprising art created during this period was particularly rich and bountiful, driven in part by exceptionally talented court artists. The latter are the focus of this exhibition, which displays over 400 works, many of them appearing here for the first time anywhere in the world. They come from a wide range of private collections and famous European, North American and Middle Eastern institutions. The exhibition also benefits from exceptional loans from major Iranian museums. This comprehensive overview of Qajar art brings together paintings, drawings, jewellery, enamels, rugs, clothing, photographs and ceremonial weapons, all showcased by Christian Lacroix s immersive and vibrant design. Abu l Hasan Ghaffari Sani al-mulk Portrait of Nasir al-din Shah Ink and colours on paper Musée du Louvre, Dist. RMN-GP / Claire Tabbagh / Collections Numériques 1

Qajar Iran: a rich but little-known history While historians have studied the ancient civilisations that once flourished in this area three times the size of France, very few have examined the 18th

2 Qajar Iran: a rich but little-known history While historians have studied the ancient civilisations that once flourished in this area three times the size of France, very few have examined the 18th and 19th centuries, and it is only recently that this period has received the attention it deserves from Islamic art scholars, after the very first retrospective in 1998 devoted to Qajar painting. As a key transitional period, it remains a major point of reference for contemporary Iranian artists working today. In 1786, Agha Muhammad, an army general, eunuch and tribal chief, seized power and settled in a small town that he made his capital: Tehran. Following his assassination in 1797, his nephew Fath Ali Shah ascended to the throne. The Qajar dynasty was born, and with it began a 19th century of great upheaval in terms of both politics and art. There were seven Qajar rulers in total, with the last being Ahmad Shah. He was deposed in 1925 by Reza Khan, who went on to found the Pahlavi dynasty. During this extraordinary period, the artistic development of pieces intended for the court focused on traditional techniques such as painting, glasswork and metalworking, elevating these fields to a new level of excellence. The Qajar sovereigns themselves were experts in drawing and calligraphy. At the same time, new techniques began to appear, including photography, which played a central role following its introduction in the 1840s. While the major iconographical themes endured, the styles used to depict them changed considerably and had a profound impact on Iranian art. Dancer with tambourin C Oil on canvas Carpentras, bibliothèque-musée Inguimbertine Inp / Ghyslain Vanneste 2

3 Lion or cat 2 nd half of the 19th century Damask steel, gold inlay Musée du Louvre, dist. RMN-GP / Hervé Lewandowski Exhibition overview The introductory section of the exhibition lets visitors follow in the footsteps of a number of European travellers, particularly the painter Jules Laurens and the architect Pascal Coste. Both published books drawing on their travels in Persia, promoting a growing European interest in the art and architecture of Iran in the 19th century. This introduction presents the drawings, surveys, paintings and works of these two important travellers sideby-side. The second section offers a cultural overview of the Qajar period. After passing through a portrait gallery featuring the various sovereigns, visitors are invited to reflect on the close links that the dynasty maintained with its European counterparts from the start of the century onwards. As in Europe, the rediscovery of the nation s history sowed the seeds for the birth of nationalism, while Iranian society was profoundly affected by a range of religious movements interwoven with political disagreements. The third section examines the courtly arts and how they became codified according to an aesthetic unique to the Qajar dynasty. As artists themselves, the Shahs were conscious of the importance of artistic production from a political standpoint. Shrewdly exploiting their own image, they created a new backdrop for their sometimes fragile power, establishing a luxurious, sophisticated court and redesigning its architecture. Ceramic panels, vast oil paintings, rugs, jewellery, clothes and musical instruments all played a role in moulding this image. The last section presents the artists, the way their status developed throughout the century, and their encounters with modernity. In doing so, it sheds light on the artists of the time and on the major themes explored in painting, pottery and metalworking. The artists search for excellence using traditional techniques and for an Iranian modernity dovetailed with the needs of the Shahs; they were fascinated by European innovations such as photography and lithography, which went on to revolutionise Iranian art. This final section of the exhibition is punctuated by exceptional works such as an enormous Baccarat crystal chandelier. 3

Scenography by Mr Christian Lacroix Scenography by Mr Christian Lacroix An art history enthusiast himself, designer Christian Lacroix has fashioned the exhibition as a stroll through the rooms of an

4 Scenography by Mr Christian Lacroix Scenography by Mr Christian Lacroix An art history enthusiast himself, designer Christian Lacroix has fashioned the exhibition as a stroll through the rooms of an opulent Qajar palace. Visitors enter the gallery through a monumental doorway inspired by the triple arcade depicted in the Ruines du palais d Ashraff, a 19th-century painting by Jules Laurens on loan from the Bibliothèque Inguimbertine in Carpentras. Immediately, visitors are greeted by a splendid theatrical costume created by Christian Lacroix in 2001 for Bianca Li s ballet Shéhérazade at the Paris Opera. Within the exhibition gallery, the succession of rooms is inspired by the palatial residence constructed by Fath Ali Shah in Sulaymaniyah, the plans for which now preserved in the Bibliothèque municipale de l Alcazar in Marseille were drawn up in 1840 by architect Pascal Coste. The rooms are therefore grouped into four architectural units that correspond to the four main sections of the exhibition, separated by alleys. Each unit can be identified by varying shades of a certain colour, characteristic of both Qajar art and the world of Christian Lacroix: blue, red, green and yellow. Walls hung with silk and walkways covered with rugs created by the designer recall the sumptuousness of Iranian textiles. By contrast, the Napoleon III style chairs loaned by the Mobilier National and display cases from the early 20th century remind visitors that the later Qajar sovereigns were influenced by the art of the Second French Empire. 4

Cultural programme Alongside the exhibition, the museum is organising a series of events and conferences hosted at La Scène, the venue s auditorium.

5 Cultural programme Alongside the exhibition, the museum is organising a series of events and conferences hosted at La Scène, the venue s auditorium. The programme explores the founding myths of Iran, recalls the discovery of the country by European artists in the 19th century, and showcases contemporary Iranian art. It takes visitors on a journey from medieval initiation stories (The Conference of the Birds) to the percussion of the Chemirani Ensemble via the Mélodies persanes of Saint-Saëns and the films of Abbas Kiarostami and Marjane Satrapi. An event not to be missed is the literary banquet and costume ball, a festive and unconventional trip back in time to Qajar Iran. The Resource Centre auditorium, meanwhile, will host an international colloquium reviewing current research on the art of the Qajar dynasty. Within the framework of the agreement between the ICHHTO and the musée du Louvre, the exhibition The Musée du Louvre in Tehran. Treasuries of the French national collections will be presented in the national Museum of Iran, from March 5th until June 3rd, WHY THE ROSE EMPIRE? The 13th-century Persian poet Saadi was the author of the Gulistan, one of the most famous collections of poems and stories in Persian literature. Literally meaning The Rose Garden, this work was first translated into French in the 17th century by the orientalist André du Ryer under the title The Rose Empire ( L Empire des roses ). When the first Qajar sovereigns settled in Tehran, they gave their palace the same name. Today, the kar-e Golestan (Gulistan Palace) remains the main museum exhibiting Qajar art in Tehran. The name of the exhibition is therefore a twofold reference to both literature and the setting for Qajar rule. Binding with rose and nightingale Mid-19th century Cardboard, lacquered decoration Musée du Louvre, dist. RMN-GP / Hughes Dubois 5

6 Curator: Gwenaëlle Fellinger, Senior Curator, department of Islamic Art at the Louvre Museum. Associate curator: Hana Chidiac, head of the North African and Near Eastern collections at the Musée du quai Branly Jacques Chirac. The exhibition, together with the accompanying colloquium, has benefited from the generous support of the Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Fund, established by Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute, as part of the Louvre Endowment Fund. The exhibition has been made possible thanks to the special support from Crédit Mutuel Nord Europe Foundation and Total Foundation. Lelièvre Paris has also supported the exhibition by providing remarkable furniture silks. R SHAN CULTURAL HERITAGE INSTITUTE VISITOR INFORMATION Exhibition from 28 March to 23 July Open daily from 10 AM to 6 PM. Closed on Tuesdays. Free entry for under 18 year olds / year olds: 5 / Full price: 10 Musée du Louvre-Lens 99 rue Paul Bert Lens (France) T : +33 (0) / Discover the #LouvreLens museum and the #expoartpersan exhibition on social media PRESS CONTACTS Regional and Belgian press Bruno Cappelle Musée du Louvre-Lens T : +33 (0) presse@louvrelens.fr National and international press Alexis Grégorat Agence Claudine Colin Communication T : +33 (0) / P : +33 (0) alexis@claudinecolin.com Head of Communications & Marketing Magalie Vernet Musée du Louvre-Lens magalie.vernet@louvrelens.fr Attributed to Mihr Ali Portrait of Fath Ali Shah ( ) C Oil on canvas RMN-GP (musée du Louvre) / Hervé Lewandowski 6

Louvre-Lens Museum «The Rose Empire» exhibition

Louvre-Lens Museum «The Rose Empire» exhibition Terms of use: - These images are exclusively intended for the promotion of the exhibition presented at the Louvre-Lens museum from 28 March to 23 July 2018.