Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Alexander II and Crown Princess Katherine hosted this evening the official opening of the exhibition “Discovering Arcadia – French Art at the Royal Compound,” that will be open for the public till 24 October 2014. Visitors should announce their visit one day in advance by calling 011 306 4014 or by email to [email protected] and visits will be organised during working days at 2 pm.
HRH Crown Prince Alexander II has addressed guests at the opening and said: “I am very proud of my grandfather, His Majesty King Alexander I of Yugoslavia and my grand-uncle, His Royal Highness Prince Paul, because they had an exceptional vision to create this valuable and important collection. After several decades the value of this collection has been recognised again and has appeared in the public thanks to the cooperation of the International community with many cultural institutions, especially with the Archives of Yugoslavia. Albert Camus, a French Nobel prize laureate, famously said: “Without culture, and the relative freedom it implies, society, even when perfect, is but a jungle. This is why any authentic creation is a gift to the future”. Culture indeed is of the utmost importance for any society. Yet I am deeply concerned about the situation regarding culture in Serbia. We must preserve culture and especially what we have like the collections of the National Museum and the Royal Compound. However due to various reasons our National Museum has been closed for over a decade. The White Palace is falling apart and the buildings in the Royal compound need desperate repair and work. Valuable art collections within them are part of the national heritage and yet they are under serious threat of damage and destruction due to lack of funding. The White Palace and the Royal Compound are confiscated properties and therefore they must be a state responsibility like the National Museum is. I hope and wish that after more than ten years, finally our National Museum will be reopened, and that the Royal Compound is finally thoroughly renovated — before it becomes too late!”
Beside HRH Crown Prince Alexander II, HE Mrs Christone Moro, the ambassador of France to Serbia also addressed the distinguished guests, members of diplomatic corps and cultural and public life of Serbia.
The French art collection within the State art collection of the Royal Compound represents one of the most valuable segments. Collected from 1930s to 1980s this collection has some of most prominent names of French Baroque Classicism, Rococo and late 18th century: Nicolas Poussin, Gaspard Dughet, Sébastien Bourdon, Nicolas Chaperon, François Boucher, Claude Vernet, Clodion … Beside huge thematic diversity and long period of time, one idea substantially marked this collection, the idea of Arcadia.
This idea that has been visualised already in ancient literature and art, and revived in Renaissance, the idea of Arcadia as a world beyond space and time continued to be unfulfilled ideal for humanity. This concept has flourished in France Baroque art. We can say for sure that our understanding of Arcadia was modelled by the works of art of the French artists. Therefore those scenes from out of this world are the backbone of the French collection within the Royal Compound art collection.
This exhibition has been organised in cooperation of the Royal Palace Fund and French Cultural Centre with support of the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia.
