Singapore French Festival 2007 Voilah @ Engraving the World
A Selection from the Chalcography Collection of the Louvre Museum
4 May – 22 Jul 2007
Singapore Art Museum
Singapore

The Singapore Art Museum (SAM) and the Singapore French Festival ’07 Voilah! are proud to present for the first time in Singapore, the Chalcography collection of the Louvre Museum. An exhibition of 138 etchings from engraved copper plates of historically significant works will be on display at SAM from 4 May to 22 July. Spanning over four decades, these etchings chronicle the art of copper engraving from the early seventeenth century to current times.

Chalcography, endorsed in the seventeenth century under the patronage of Louis XIV, (r. 1643-1715), refer to the technique of engraving on copper, as well as the repository in which the copper engraved plates are kept in. In 1663, Louis XIV initiated the production of a collection of etching known as the Cabinet du Roi (King’s Cabinet) with depictions of the royal residences, monuments, records of historical occasions, botanical and natural history subjects as well as etching made after masterpieces in the royal art collections. Print from the Cabinet du Roi form a significant part of the Louvre’s chalcography collection. A selection of these prints will be exhibited along with other notable works in the exhibition at SAM.

A must see among the collection would be etchings of masterpieces such as Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, and Eugène Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People commemorating the July Revolution of France. Other highlights also include prints by several contemporary artists such as internationally renowned Louise Bourgeois. Apart from mapping the development of chalcography through the centuries, the collection also demonstrates chalcography’s historical links to the birth of sinology in France and the country’s relationship with the Qing Dynasty.

Engraving The World is co-presented with the French Chamber of Commerce and the French Embassy in Singapore, the Louvre Museum, the Réunion des Musées Nationaux and Hexagramm. The exhibition is made possible with the support of main sponsor BNP Paribas, sponsor Saint Julien Le Restaurant as well as media supporters Clear Channel, MediaCorp TV12, SMRT Media, SPH MediaBoxOffice and Suntec Singapore.

Log on to www.voilah.sg to get updates and fresh information on Voilah!

Photography by Eugene Tang. All Rights reserved.