Indepth Arts News:
"The Treasury of the Sainte
Chapelle"
2001-06-01 until 2001-08-27
Louvre Museum
Paris, ,
FR
The objects in the treasury of the Ste Chapelle were assembled by King
Louis IX (otherwise known as St Louis)
from 1239 onwards around important
relics relative to Christ's Passion from the
Imperial treasury of Constantinople,
which fell to the Crusaders of the Fourth
Crusade in 1204. It thus unites both
Byzantine and medieval works which are
regarded as some of the greatest
masterpieces of the Middle Ages. All the
surviving works from this treasury will be
on view in the exhibition.
First of all, the
relics and reliquaries from the Imperial
Byzantine palaces (including the famous
Great Cameo of France, the largest and
most beautiful ancient cameo). Followed
by bookbindings, reliquaries and
illuminated manuscripts, which testify to
the creation of the treasury around these
relics during the reign of Louis IX. From
Philip the Fair to the 18th century, silk
mitres, manuscripts, ivories, carved or
enamelled altarpieces enriched the
collection, demonstrating how the treasury
continued to arouse interest. Lastly, the
dispersion and fate of the relics after the
French Revolution will be recalled in the
exhibit based on the two spectacular
reliquaries of the Crown of Thorns.
Following the successful exhibition of
objects from the treasury of the Abbey of
St Denis, held at the Louvre in 1991, this
is one of the most prestigious medieval
collections ever to be shown to the public.
Exhibition curators: Danielle
Gaborit-Chopin, Jannick Durand, from
the Department of Decorative Arts.
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