Gilded Art and Artifacts of 18th Century Paris Glow at the Getty

Paris: Lifstyle and Luxury is an exhibit that's pure

It celebrates the museum's amazing collection in a show radiating erudition and charm that only the Getty could mount.

Sauntering through the expertly-laid-out galleries of the Getty’s exhibition one wonders if the original owners of the treasures on display ever bothered to think that their objects would be marveled over let alone be on exhibition.

The domestic landscape of the wealthy in eighteenth-century France was indeed a rarified one.

And it is to the credit of Getty curator Charissa Bremer-David that the lifestyle of this gilded age (metaphoric and literal) is conjured in such sharp relief with the artifacts on display.

The exhibit is arranged chronologically, from morning to post sunset, and with the passage of time are highlighted the activities which might occur as the day lingered on.

The first room examines the morning ablutions of the lady of the house, or should I say mansion.

La Toilette concerns the morning routines of getting dressed and receiving company during those hours.

Next is a glimpse to the reading and daily correspondence tableaux including an ornate writing desk, exquisitely veneered bookcases and globes.  Fine dining, collecting art, science, music, and lastly leisure activities each have their own rooms.

The effect is wonderful as one follows the hypothetical gentry through the course of a day.

It’s a simple premise but rarely seen in the confines of the hallowed and erudite halls of art history. It personalizes the objects and thus brings them to life.

This refreshing layout is coupled by the omnivorous inclusion of the fine arts and the applied arts. An ornate bed rests beside the paintings, which might have hung adjacent. Silver serving dishes are centered in a room with paintings depicting food, the hunt and the harvest.

A harpsichord and a five-legged card table inhabit rooms that define the sense of the idle upper class with playing cards and other games of chance.

There are a couple of stand-out elements of the exhibition that are worth noting.

Unlike most displays of antique furniture, several examples in this exhibit have drawers opened, and accessories exposed. The card table is from the Getty collection and is commonly displayed with its tabletop folded inward and the fifth leg retracted. The asymmetrical nature of the fully extended table is a marvel and thoroughly modern in its concept.

The writing desk in the second room of the exhibition has two drawers pulled open, revealing the complex joinery and exacting craftsmanship involved. Even an adjacent leather-bound chair has armrests that flip up revealing a hidden compartment.

A prayer altar in the last room is also a writing desk with retractable kneeling rest. Such modularity might have been used in a smaller scale before, but the eighteenth century saw the application of these methods increase with remarkable wit and cleverness.

One hundred sixty objects are on display in this well-paced exhibit, over half from the permanent collection of the Getty and several seen for the first time.

The rest of the treasures are on loan from international institutions and private collections. It speaks volumes of the Getty’s clout and the curator’s acumen that the Herculean task of logistics and diplomacy could culminate is such a rare and wonderful exhibit. 

Paris: Life and Luxury opened on April 26 and continues through August 7.

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