Claude Gillot. Comedies, Fables and Arabesques

And what if its move to Dijon was the best thing that could have happened to the Gillot exhibition? This paradox jumps out at visitors who are finally discovering a retrospective that was feared to be doomed by its early closure after just four days at the Louvre following the discovery of infiltrations (see article): quickly dismantled, it unfortunately seemed destined to remain in boxes, to the great dismay of art lovers and the curious who had not been able to enjoy it in New York! It took several months to finalise its transfer - exile was out of the question - to the Musée Magnin in Dijon, with the support of the Réunion des Musées Nationaux, even though the Musée de Marly had for a time been mooted as a refuge in the Paris region. This elegant solution is, in our view, a virtue, even if we must regret the early disappearance of some indispensable American loans.

1. View of the ‘Claude Gillot. Comedies, Fables and Arabesques’ exhibition
Photo: Musée Magnin

See the image in its page

However, the intimate rooms of the Dijon museum provide an ideal setting for Claude Gillot (ill. 1), who enjoys a clearer and more pleasant tour than at the Louvre. While we didn’t have the opportunity to see the American version of this exhibition, it is still possible to get an idea of it through this succinctly-titled review published by Axel Moulinier on the association’s blog Bella Maniera. Some of the biases of the Parisian presentation, where the enthusiasm of the discovery was quickly dulled by the gagging that seized the visitor in front of the ugly yellow picture rails, or the curious choice of spaces: decidedly nomadic, always badly located, the temporary exhibition rooms of the Graphic Arts department are like a sick man in the Louvre Museum, which has never managed to find a suitable location for them over the years.

2. Claude Gillot (1673-1722)
Study for Is it an Enchantment, Is it an Illusion!
Pen and black ink - 21 x 32 cm