Jean-Marc Nattier’s ‘Tsar Peter I’, painted in 1717, is one of the exhibiting paintings. The show parallels a slew of others this year that are loosely or closely connected to the centenary of the Russian Revolution. Image courtesy of Musée de l’Ermitage, Saint-Petersbourg, 2017
From May 30 to September 24, 2017, the Grand Trianon Palace in Versailles will commemorate the tercentenary of the Russian ruler Peter the Great’s visit to France, which was a major diplomatic and cultural event of the time.
2017 has seen a growing number of exhibitions marking the centenary of the Russian Revolution — at New York’s MOMA, London’s Tate Modern and Royal Academy, and the Hermitage Amsterdam. Now, the Grand Trianon palace in Versailles is celebrating the 300th anniversary of the Russian Tsar Peter the Great’s visit to France.
Louis Hersent, ‘Louis XV visiting Peter the Great at the Hotel de Lesdiguières, May 10, 1717’, 1838. Image courtesy of Château de Versailles, Christophe Fouin
This new exhibition, ‘Peter the Great, a Tsar in France. 1717’, is a collaborative undertaking by the Château de Versailles and Russia’s famous State Hermitage Museum. Around 150 pieces will be on display, including paintings, sculptures, items of decorative art, medals, maps, books, manuscripts and scientific instruments.
Visitors will be taken step by step through the Russian ruler’s visit from April 21 to June 21, 1717. The son of Tsar Alexis Mikhaïlovitch stayed at the Grand Trianon palace during his time in France. The trip had political and economic objectives, but it was also a source of inspiration for the Tsar who had been introducing modernising reforms in Saint Petersburg since 1703. He intended to take the best aspects of the French kingdom and adapt them to his own empire.
Leather, parchment, bronze, glass and wood items from the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. Image courtesy of Musée de l’Ermitage, Saint-Petersbourg, 2017
‘Peter the Great, a Tsar in France. 1717’ will cover Peter the Great’s visit to a young Louis XV and the Regent Philippe d’Orléans. Visitors will discover the Tsar’s interest in French science and techniques, as well as local painters such as Louis Caravaque and Jean-Baptiste Oudry.
The exhibition will also cover the Russian leader’s interest in the gardens at Marly and the Grand Trianon.
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