TOURS MUSEUM ANNOUNCES MAJOR PALISSY WARE EXHIBITION

OCTOBER 15, 2002 TO JANUARY 15, 2003

 

TOURS - .The Tours Museum of Fine Arts (Musée des Beaux-Arts) announces the most comprehensive exhibit of 19th-century Palissy ware to ever be held. Entitled, "Tours Faience, 1840-1910: Avisseau and the Inspiration of the Renaissance" (La Faïence de Tours, 1840-1910: Avisseau et le souffle de la Renaissance), the exhibition will be held in Tours, France from October 15, 2002 to January 15, 2003; it will then travel to the Adrien-Dubouché Museum in Limoges, February 1 to March 31, 2003; then to the Bordeaux Museum of Decorative Arts, April 15 to June 15, 2003.

The exhibit will contain approximately 150 ceramic works including several from the16th century attributed to Bernard Palissy or his workshop, a number of Tuileries grotto fragments, original Saint-Porchaire ware, a chronological display of important works by Charles-Jean Avisseau featuring one or more from nearly every year between 1840 and 1861 together with many undated examples, and many of the best known works by Edouard Avisseau, Caroline Avisseau, Edouard-Léon Deschamp-Avisseau, Joseph Landais, Charles-Joseph Landais, Alexandre Landais, Léon Brard, Auguste Chauvigné (father and son), Carré de Busserolle, Octave Daniau, and Louis Tinier. In addition, the exhibition will include a section devoted to the 19th-century techniques of ceramic making in Tours including (1) actual hand tools, enamel palettes, molds, casts, and trial pieces from the workshop of Charles-Jean Avisseau, (2) display of raw materials and lead glazes as used by Avisseau, (3) documentation on kilns, enameling, stamping, turning, and modeling, and, (4) photographic explanations of methods for the scientific analysis of ceramic chemical formulae and the expert restoration of damaged works.

A full color catalog will be published containing many illustrations from the exhibit, essays by ceramic historians and authorities, and finally, the complete text of "Treatise of Colors" (Le Traité des couleurs) by Charles-Jean Avisseau, reproduced for the first time.

The city of Tours is located 142 miles southwest of Paris on the Loire River, and is easily accessible by car or train. There are several non-stop, high-speed trains (TGV) from Paris each day and take about 70 minutes. Some stop at the Tours station (located one block from the museum), and others stop at St. Pierre des Corps, about 10 minutes by cab from the museum.The best hotel in town is Jean Bardet which has a two-star restaurant (the best in the area) located on the outskirts of Tours. For those who wish to spend a couple of days exploring the area, Tours is situated in the heart of the Loire Valley famous for its many Renaissance chateaux.

If you wish to contact the Museum directly, go to the Museums section of this website for the complete address. More information to follow when available.