The Discovery of Greek Art in France

 From Culturez-vous:

The exhibition adopts a chronological approach and begins in 1675 when the Marquis de Nointel, ambassador of Louis XIV, goes to Constantinople. On his way, he passed through Athens and brought back antiquities that joined the royal collections and allowed the discovery of this art in France. A century later, the Count of Choiseul Gouffier, ambassador of Louis XVI “to the Sublime Porte” – that is Constantinople – became one of the first philhellenes (friends of Greece) to defend its independence. He carried out the first excavations of the Acropolis and obtained on this occasion the authorization to make casts of the sculptures of the Parthenon but also to bring back some fragments which will be discovered in France for the first time. He also brought back from his trip an important book of observation, “Le Voyage pittoresque de la Grèce”. Without knowing it, these diplomats realized a first step in the birth of archaeology. They allow us to discover, through their testimony and the collections they brought back, the cultural diversity of Greece at that time. (Read more.)