CONF: Versailles in the World, 1660-1789 (New York, 29 January 2016)

Versailles in the World, 1660-1789
NYU, Jurow Hall, Silver Center, Washington Square Campus, January 29, 2016
<http://versaillesintheworld.com>
Co-organizers: Meredith Martin (New York University and the Institute of Fine Arts), Jeffrey Collins (Bard Graduate Center), Robert Wellington (Australian National University)
Versailles is often seen as the epitome of “Frenchness,” yet the palace and its contents were profoundly shaped by encounters with people and
objects from around the world. This symposium builds upon recent colloquia and exhibitions such as La Chine a Versailles: art et
diplomatie au XVIIIe siecle (2014) and Voyageurs etrangers a la cour de France, 1589-1789 (2014) to emphasize the international character of
Versailles between the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XVI and to situate its art and architecture in a global context.
The day-long public event at the Washington Square Campus of NYU brings together an international group of scholars to explore connections between Versailles and a wide variety of geographical regions and cultures, from Thailand to Tunisia to Dutch Brazil. Papers focus on a range of visual and material culture that relates to cross-cultural
exchanges at Versailles in the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, including the depiction of ambassadorial visits to the
palace; gifts to and from the French Court; objects and images made for Versailles and its inhabitants that depict non-European cultures or
reveal cross-cultural resonances; exoticism and fashion; and examples of art and architecture made outside of Europe that were inspired by
Versailles.
Versailles in the World, 1660-1789 is timed to coincide with the preparation of a major exhibition on the foreign visitor at Versailles
that will open at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in May 2017. It has been made possible through the generous support of New York University,
Bard Graduate Center, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Program:
10:00AM – Welcome and Opening Remarks: Versailles as a Site of Global Exchange, Meredith Martin, New York University
10:15AM – Curators Danielle Kisluk-Grosheide (Metropolitan Museum) and Bertrand Rondot (Musee National des Chateaux de Versailles et de
Trianon) discuss their upcoming exhibition Visitors to Versailles, 1682-1789
11:00AM – 12:30PM – Session I. Diplomatic Gifts and the French Court
Mediating Spaces: Dutch Brazil at the French Court, Carrie Anderson, Middlebury College
From Versailles to Nouvelle France: French ‘Indian Peace Medals’ of the Eighteenth Century, Robert Wellington, Australian National University
Versailles, Beijing and the Eighteenth-Century Global Imaginary, Kristel Smentek, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
12:30 – 1:45PM – Lunch
1:45 – 3:15PM – Session 2. International Trade, Collecting, and Display
From Ancient Carthage to Modern Tunis: The Cultural and Political Reception of Tunisia at the French Court of Versailles, Ridha Moumni,
Institut de recherche sur le Maghreb contemporain (IRMC)
Mercantilism, Entrepreneurship, and the French Silk Corridors to Persia, Junko Takeda, Syracuse University
Native American Objects at Versailles, Noemie Etienne, Getty Research Institute
3:15 – 3:30PM – Break
3:30 – 4:15PM – Session 3. Fashion and Exoticism
Fashion Will Travel: Dress and Diplomacy at the Court of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell, Independent scholar
4:15 – 5:15PM – Roundtable discussion led by Jeffrey Collins, Bard Graduate Center
5:15 – 6:00PM – Closing Reception
For further information please contact Robert Wellington: robert.wellington@anu.edu.au