Author(s): Jean-Louis Gaillemin

Art

This title offers rare access to an exceptional private collection of masterpieces by Raphael, Poussin, Ingres, Durer. The Conde Museum within the Chateau de Chantilly just north of Paris is home to one of the finest museums in France today: 1000 paintings, 2500 drawings and 2500 engravings are on display at this magnificent castle and library. The splendid collection of art includes major paintings by Raphael, Poussin, Ingres, Durer, Corot, Clouet, Delacroix, Winterhalter...The collection was amassed by Henri dOrleans - the Duke of Aumale and fourth son of Louis-Philippe who rebuilt the magnificent Chantilly castle to house it. His private apartments boast one of the only intact interiors in the Louis-Philippe style in France. The painting galleries are still hung in the nineteenth-century style as he left them upon his death, allowing us a unique insight into the history of taste and art collecting of the period. Art historian Jean-Louis Gaillemin retraces the Duke of Aumale's life as a collector of art using his private letters, registers, archives, and period photographs of the original rooms with their paintings and furnishings. Nicole Garnier, chief curator at the Musee Conde, provides insight on two hundred masterpieces of art from this unique collection. Since the Duke of Aumale stipulated in his will that none of the art can leave the premises, this landmark volume is an indispensable guide for armchair travelers and art historians alike.