The number of fools is infinite. Ecclesiastes 1:15
After the exhibition Things, A History of Still Lifes in 2022-23 and The Treasury of Notre-Dame Cathedral in 2023-24, the Fondation Etrillard is renewing its support for the Musée du Louvre for an ambitious and stimulating exhibition: Figures of the fool, From the Middle Ages to the Romantics, presented from October 16, 2024 to February 3, 2025 in the Hall Napoléon.
D'après Hyeronimus Bosch, "Le Concert dans l'œuf", © GrandPalaisRmn (Palais des Beaux-Arts, Lille) / Stéphane Maréchalle
The exhibition explores the fascinating figure of the fool: while this was an integral part of the visual culture of medieval man, it was rarely considered from the point of view of art history. Yet between the 13th and mid-16th centuries, the notion of madness inspired and stimulated artistic creation in both literature and the visual arts.
Tapisserie : scène de chasse, collation © RMN-Grand Palais / Michel Urtado
The Fondation Etrillard is delighted to contribute to the rediscovery of the subversive and typically medieval figure of the fool, through a chronological and thematic tour of over 300 works: sculptures, objets d'art, medals, illuminations, drawings, engravings, paintings and tapestries.
The exhibition is curated by two Musée du Louvre curators: Elisabeth Antoine-König (Department of Objets d'Art) and Pierre-Yves Le Pogam (Department of Sculpture).
Aquamanile représentant Aristote et Phyllis © The Metropolitan Museum of Art
This exhibition is part of the Fondation Etrillard's mission to rediscover the Middle Ages, in the various fields of art and the humanities, in Switzerland and France. This goal is reflected in the sponsorship of exhibitions related to the Middle Ages (Swiss illuminated manuscripts at the Fondation Bodmer, Trésor de Notre-Dame at the Louvre, Charles VII at the Musée de Cluny).
For this support, the Fondation Etrillard is delighted to join forces once again with the New York Medieval Society, the Foundation's American partner, with whom it cooperated for the exhibition The Arts in France under Charles VII (1422-1461) at the Musée de Cluny.
Jacquemart de Hesdin, "Psautier du duc de Berry", détail © Bibliothèque nationale de France