De Naples à Chantilly : les collections de la reine Caroline Murat
Auteur(s) : Mathieu Deldicque, Gennaro Toscano (dir.)
Exhibition at the Château de Chantilly, Musée Condé, 6 June – 4 October 2026
Nicknamed the ‘queen of the arts’, Caroline Murat (1782–1839), the youngest of Napoleon I’s sisters and wife of Joachim Murat, was one of the leading figures in artistic patronage between France and Italy in the early 19th century. Having become Queen of Naples in 1808, she developed a keen interest in painting, archaeology and the decorative arts, and fostered the emergence of some of the most innovative young artists of her time.
This exhibition catalogue illustrates Caroline Murat’s commitment through paintings, antiquities and objets d’art—some of which have never been seen before—from her collections, and puts into perspective her role in the development of the arts and collections in Naples during her reign. Through rich iconography and essays by art historians, the book reveals the central role of an exceptional female figure in the promotion of the arts on a European scale.
