Diamonds are a girl's best friend… The emperor of French jewelery Chaumet unveils his most beautiful pieces from the archives at the Beaux-Arts in Paris on the occasion of the Végétal exhibition, the School of Beauty curated by Marc Jeanson , a former member of the National Museum of Natural History , currently botanical director of the Majorelle Garden in Marrakech. Goldsmith nuggets, textiles and made-to-measure creations are absolutely to be discovered this summer.
De venustas… Jewelry that imitates nature
The 100% green exhibition puts on a big show at the École des Beaux-Arts with a parade of extremely rare masterpieces. The opportunity to look back over more than 2000 years of beauty history and man's constant search for Beauty with a capital B: harmony, perfection and the imitation of nature .
Total immersion thanks to a 2.0 decor, the reconstruction of a cave by Eva Jospin and its wood forest at the entrance, but also games of spaces and volumes of just proportions throughout the course. True dialogues are maintained between the exhibited works: sketches of floral figures or study drawings by Corbusier and Pierre Chaumet facing the most beautiful jewels of the house.
What do we see? Precious treasures such as the tiaras of queens lent by the princesses of the Orient, the iconic lily-of-the-valley dress by Christian Dior (1954), models of finery for special evenings, the Bayadère necklace (1920), a long necklace of pearls and sapphires à la Joséphine Baker, the most beautiful herbariums and sketches of studies from the archives of the Natural History Museum .
A 100% naturalist exhibition
You do n't have to be at the top of your class in natural sciences to enjoy the course, which highlights precious artisanal know-how as well as the naturalist ambitions of artists and master jewelers from Antiquity to the present day. Imitated and sublimated, botany unites art and science through complex and ultimately glam creations. We do not miss the key works by the great masters of painting such as the portrait by Arcimboldo or a documentary study of floral still lifes by Caillebotte .
A veritable cabinet of curiosities, the first floor showcases plants and cereals in its large wooden showcases, such as the lucky wheat ears per thousand, or the bunch of grapes, brilliantly declined by the Chaumets on the most beautiful ornaments . of the house: a play of colors and shapes made in prestigious materials, diamonds , gold , silver, pearls, emeralds, in short, the whole panoply to impress the gallery. The highlight of the show: the magnificent XL format tapestry with a thousand flowers called L'Adoration (16th century).
Chaumet, the School of Beauty , Open Wednesday to Sunday, noon to 8 p.m. Until September 4. Entry from €2. Online booking .
Also discover: the star exhibitions to see at the moment and what to do in Paris this weekend .
