WRITTEN IN FRENCH
The different facets of a "man of science and rigour" who, in addition to his successful literary activities, rubbed shoulders with the highest political circles of his time and worked decisively for the national heritage.
Famous for having written numerous short stories - including La Vénus d'Ille and especially Carmen, which inspired Bizet's famous opera - Prosper Mérimée (1803-1870) is also one of the great figures of French history and archaeology of the nineteenth century. Becoming Inspector General of Historic Monuments in 1834, he crisscrossed France and collaborated with Viollet-le-Duc to restore buildings in danger: the basilica of Vézelay, the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris or the City of Carcassonne.
An essential figure of his time, to whom the National Museum of the Château de Compiègne is dedicating an important exhibition, seventy years after the last retrospective held at the National Library of France.
With a hundred notes and numerous essays, this book looks back at Prosper Mérimée's career without neglecting some more personal aspects, evoking in particular his relationship with women and his relations with many artists of his time, including Delacroix, Chateaubriand, Hugo, Musset and Stendhal. The reproduction of numerous letters and sketches sheds light on Mérimée's approach, surveys of ancient stelae and busts testify to his interest in antiquity, and watercolours also reveal a little-known aspect of his graphic work. Thanks to the quality of its scientific content, this catalogue, at the crossroads of different disciplines, successfully combines archaeology, art history and literature.
Exhibition at the Musée national du château de Compiègne from 15 December 2023 to 18 March 2024
French
384 pages / 250 illustrations
Éditions Rmn - Grand Palais
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