ART & MUSEUMS ❘ LA CULTURE
BOULEVARD BEAUMARCHAIS
READ THE SIGNS
Mightier than the sword
Boulevard Beaumarchais connects the Place de la Bastille to Boulevard des Filles-du-Calvaire. It is part of the Grands Boulevards which were created on the site of the enclosure of Charles V, built from 1356 to 1383, and destroyed under Louis XIV around 1670. The road is named after poet and playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732-1799), whose stately home located at no. 2, on the corner of Boulevard Richard-Lenoir and the Place de la Bastille, was knocked down in 1825 to give way to the Canal Saint-Martin. Its garden was then turned into a salt store.
DON’T MISS
DECONSTRUCTING CARAVAGGIO The exhibition ‘Caravaggio, A Lash of the Whip’, aims to explore the circumstances
surrounding the creation of one of his most striking masterpieces, ‘The Flagellation of Christ’. The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen presents the discoveries made during recent scientifi c analyses, which shed light on the chronology of the work and the way it was produced. Through a comparison with rivals, contemporaries and shared infl uence, the exhibition
unveils the technical and stylistic references that led to the creation of this masterful work, including Caravaggio’s time in Naples, and his desire for continued reinvention. Until February 27
mbarouen.fr
Did you know...? BACK TO BLACK
Pierre Soulages, known for his black monochrome ‘Outrenoir’ paintings, died in October last year. While always leaving room for ‘happy accidents’ in his work, he was known to cast aside any paintings that didn’t meet his exacting standards. Once a year he would take the offenders to his country home and light a huge bonfi re, committing them to ashes no matter how long or laborious their creation.
His home is long gone but Beaumarchais’ legacy lives on, not just through his mighty pen, which gave us The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro, later adapted into operas by Mozart and Rossini, but also in his staunch support for nascent ideas. Beaumarchais lobbied offi cials and oversaw secret aid from the French and Spanish governments to supply arms and money to American rebels during the War of Independence. He was also instrumental in the publication and preservation of Voltaire’s works, which were banned in France and may have otherwise been forever lost.
❯❯ Feb/Mar 2023 FRANCE TODAY ❘ 27
IMAGES © RÉUNION DES MUSÉES MÉTROPOLITAINS ROUEN NORMANDIE, MUSÉE DES BEAUX-ARTS, FONDATION CARTIER, WIKICOMMONS: RALF TREINEN, KORNELIJA KONESKA
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