Each summer, the Grimaldi Forum Monaco hosts a major thematic exhibition. This year, the life of the Chinese emperors and empresses is in the spotlight, under the theme “The Forbidden City in Monaco.”
Introducing the public to the life of the Chinese emperors and empresses was a challenge that Jean-Paul Desroches, honorary general curator of heritage, aims to achieve at the Grimaldi Forum Monaco.
Thus, from July 14 to September 10, 2017, the public will be able to step into the intimacy of the court, the most private and secretive aspect of the sovereigns’ lives.
“The Forbidden City in Monaco. Life of the Court of the Emperors and Empresses” will feature over 250 exceptional pieces, including 50 loans from major European and American collections from renowned museums such as the Cernuschi Museum, the Louvre Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels, and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington.
This exhibition is organized around four main sections:
– The Manchus: The exhibition opens with the history and origins of the powerful Manchu army of the Eight Banners.
– Heaven-Earth-Men: The project focuses on the personality of the Qing emperors.
– The Forbidden City, “Palace City,” and the garden.
This last section illustrates the Qing’s admiration for nature.
According to Jean-Paul Desroches, this exhibition will be truly unprecedented in both form and content, “It is the first time that over 3000mยฒ will be dedicated to this theme.”
This phase of the exhibition also unveils the second phase set for summer 2018, to be held in Beijing, highlighting the princes and princesses of Monaco.
