Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
and Palace-Museums
A resume of the conference organized by ICOM DEMHIST and ARRE
at the Compigne Palace, 7-11 October 2014
Palace of Compigne
by the white cube idea, emphasizing on the objects shown, this house recently
moved to a focus on the history of its former inhabitants and on the authenticity of
the stories related to the place itself. This attitude created a shift from a very
visual approach to a mixture of sensorial triggers, including music, tasting,
In her lively speech, Sarah Staniforth developed the idea of the genius loci as a
starting point for the historic house museums policy: this combination of unique,
distinctive and cherished aspects of the place -the brand of the house- can guide
us in addressing a large public. It should therefore be omnipresent, even in our
museum shops (the Compigne shop being an excellent example, selling for
instance Empress Eugnie biscuits and Marie-Antoinette tea). Our understanding
of the spirit of place -so easily destroyed by the banality of signings!-guides all
activities, from conservation to preservation and interpretation, from marketing to
commercial activities. It is considered to be the golden thread that runs through
good property management ensuring that all actions are respectful of and
appropriate for the character of a place.
Ian Fraser presented the next paper on Temple Newsam House, one of the great
historic houses of the UK. Most of its historic interiors were destroyed in the first
part of the 20th century, but in the early 1980s a programme was created in order
to restore them to pre-1922 decorative schemes. As surviving evidence is
incomplete, the house could not be restored back to one specific date and there are
some anomalies (for example room schemes that never existed at the same time).
However a rich visitor experience could be created through meticulous research,
conservation of evidence, restoration and narrative elements.
during the Prussian age? A particular dilemma that requires careful considerations
on how to define and to fill in authenticity.
Paz Cabello-Carro then asked the particularly ironic question whether authenticity,
identity and museography are as compatible as we would like them to be. She
illustrated this with two great examples: the Escorial monastery, an iconic place
that is very much identified with it founder, king Philip II, and the Yuste monastery,
where the emperor Charles V decided to retire and died. Both places present us
with a number of difficulties, the first because it could be considered to be a
museologists concept that has become generally accepted by the public, the other
as it needs to convey its history and identity through its furniture and decorations;
many of those being lost or deteriorated, it is not an easy job to link the buildings
past or spirit to contemporary audiences.
The first day of the conference ended with a visit to the Carrier-Belleuse exhibition
and of the Museum of the Second Empire at the Palace of Compigne.
In the evening, all attendees were invited for a reception in the Compigne Town
Hall.
Emmanuel Starcky, the Deputy Mayor and John Barnes (DEMHIST chair)
The morning of the conferences second day was spent at the Palace of Compigne,
with visits to the Great Apartments, the Guest Apartments that were used during
the famous series de Compigne, the Louis-Philippe Theatre, built for the wedding
of Louise dOrlans with King Leopold I of Belgium, and the Muse de la Voiture.
The afternoon visits started with Pierrefonds, the fairy tale reconstruction of an
ideal medieval castle by Viollet-le-Duc, unfinished but splendidly romantic in its
aim to rebuild history as an almost theatrical experience. Afterwards, we visited
Chantilly, the opulent former residence of the Duke dAumale, an inspired collector
who filled his lavish interiors with a number of exquisite collections.
In the evening, we were welcomed by douard de Coss-Brissac, Count of CossBrissac, at the family chteau du Fayel, very much kept dans son jus. Strolling
through its rooms, staircases and attics was a truly Daedelian experience.
Last but not least, Linda Young talked on doubtful truths in house museums. In her
inimitable manner, she confronted us with a grand dmasqu, immediately tackling
a few existential problems and presenting some inconvenient truths in historic
houses. Her paper surveyed the history of a number of house museums in the UK
(Shakespeare!) and the USA. If we would be willing to define ourselves as
consumers of fantasy, believing in authenticity suddenly becomes all-important.
This would imply that our concept of authenticity is very much influenced by an
irrational faith in the impossible (remember Peter Pan), in any case much more
than by a series of neo-Kantian categorical imperatives
In a very witty conclusion, Alexandre Gady asked some very relevant questions.
How do we deal with our apparently very different approaches of authenticity that
seem to create a kind of schism between rigorous and empathic schools, between
the conservatives and the ones that like to cross some borders? And what about
the general feeling that there is a rapid degradation of the publics cultural
knowledge and frame of reference? A lot of food for thought was offered during this
conference, also on more philosophical levels.
In the afternoon, four workshops were organized, all dealing with different aspects
of authenticity:
-Sustainable development and authenticity - Led by Edward Bosley
-Original, equivalent or copy? - Led by Vincent Droguet
-The public perception of authenticity Led by Michael Day
-Museum constraints with regard to authenticity - Led by Bertrand Rondot
All workshops were highly participated in and stimulated the debate of ideas,
sometimes even making professionals question their approach to the public. Do we
really listen to visitors and take into consideration their perception of authenticity?
These workshops were followed by the General Assembly with the election of the
new DEMHIST Board, a visit to the Imperial Theatre and a gala dinner in the
Palaces great ballroom.
On Saturday 11 October, those who wanted had the chance of going on a postconference tour to visit two extra palaces.
In the morning the visit started with the Palace of Fontainebleau paying special
attention to conservation. The solutions found to preserve fabrics and how to
display them for instance were seen at the theatre of the palace.