Les Choses : Une Histoire De La Nature Morte

Exhibition at the Louvre Museum, Paris, 12 October 2022 - 23 January 2023

The representation of things, of which there is evidence as early as prehistoric times, provides a formidable insight into history. Artists were the first to take them seriously. They recognised their presence, made them alive and interesting by exalting their form, their meaning, their power, their charm. They have grasped their ability to make us imagine, believe, doubt, dream, act.

The result of the collaboration of more than two hundred authors, this exhibition catalogue offers a new vision of the still life, a genre long considered minor and whose title in French is not without question. Composed of texts and contemporary drawings, the book offers a panorama of the sensibilities of our time, revisiting the history of art, from prehistoric axes to Chardin, Manet and Duchamp's ready-made.