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 à Versailles: art et diplomatie au XVIIIe siècle (2014) and Voyageurs étrangers à 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.
Jason Varone
Architectural Space and Decoration in Eighteenth-Century Europe
Architectural Space and Decoration in Eighteenth-Century Europe
(Seminar) FINH-GA 3033-001
Professor Meredith Martin
Spring 2014
This seminar explores the eighteenth-century European interior through an integrated analysis of architecture, painting, sculpture, and decorative arts. Interiors were dynamic, and at times controversial, sites of artistic and social experimentation in the eighteenth century. Whether they were decorated in the rococo, neoclassical, or chinoiserie styles, interiors were believed to shape and express evolving notions of power, identity, taste, and desire.… Read more
The Art of Diplomacy: Cross-Cultural Exchange in France, c. 1660-1860
The Art of Diplomacy: Cross-Cultural Exchange in France, c. 1660-1860
(Seminar) FINH-GA 3033-001
Meredith Martin
Spring 2015
This seminar explores the dynamic relationship among art, diplomacy and global exchange in France from the reign of Louis XIV to the mid-nineteenth century. By closely studying diplomatic embassies sent to France from different parts of Europe as well as the Ottoman Empire, Persia, North Africa, and Southeast Asia, we examine the bidirectional impact that these encounters had on art and culture, science and technology, economic and colonial policies, politics, and identity.… Read more
Draft
Depicting a scene from La Princesse d’Élide, a five-act comédie-ballet staged in the gardens of Versailles in 1664, Israël Silvestre’s engraving is a visual record 
of an ephemeral but pivotal festival that marked the confluence of performing arts, court culture, and political power in the reign of Louis XIV. Along with fellow printmakers Jean Lepautre (b.… Read more
Versailles Reconsidered
Versailles Reconsidered (Seminar)
FINH-GA 3031-001 (#20585)
Meredith Martin
SPRING 2016
In addition to surveying the standard literature on Versailles, this seminar draws upon new scholarship to offer a revisionist view of the palace and gardens from the seventeenth to twentyfirst centuries. We will focus in particular on situating the art, architecture and landscape of Versailles in a global context.… Read more
Rendez-vous: An International Seminar on French Art (18th-20th Centuries)
Rendez-vous was a seminar on French art (18th-20th centuries) held monthly throughout the 2013-2014 academic year at the Institute of Fine Arts, NYU. International scholars were invited to present their research in an informal and creative setting for approximately 30 minutes, followed by an open discussion with students and colleagues. Rendez-vous focused on French art in the broadest sense: ‘French’ is interpreted in an extensive way, including global exchanges, political dimension and colonial history, and ‘Art’ includes painting, architecture and sculpture, but also material and visual culture.… Read more
Surfaces (15th-19th Centuries)
March 27, 2015
Organized by Noemie Etienne, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of Fine Arts-NYU
This one-day symposium addresses the issue of surface in paintings, but also in sculptures, architecture and the decorative arts in Europe between the 15th and 19th centuries. The focus of this reflection is an examination of how surfaces function: how do their specific properties challenge representation or the viewer?… Read more
Hello world!
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!… Read more
Proto-Histories of Art: Art Conservation as Embedded Theory
Proto-Histories of Art: Art Conservation as Embedded Theory
Alexander Nagel and Noemie Etienne
Spring 2015
This course reviews the practical remanaging, reframing, replacement, and restoration of works of art in Europe from the Middle Ages to the foundation of modern museums in the 18th and 19th centuries. Our premise is that these practices offer material testimony, practical thinking concerning the status and historicity of art from the centuries that preceded the development of the discipline of Art History.… Read more