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THE WORLD'S BIGGEST MUSEUM
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When visitors swarm to the capital,
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they may prefer to visit
the Eiffel Tower, the Grand Palais
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or the Arc de Triomphe
than the Petit Palais.
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It's a shame and even an injustice. Why?
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Because this place is,
how should I put it, revolutionary!
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Why is it revolutionary?
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Because back then,
it pushed boundaries.
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It was a place with huge exhibit halls,
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zenithal lighting
and huge plate glass windows.
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Back in the day, this place was viewed
as the Georges Pompidou Center
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of Paris in the 80s.
It's as revolutionary as that.
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Here is the Beaubourg of 1900,
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which I would recommend
that you visit right away. Let's go.
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Hello. Nothing in my hands or pockets.
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Oh, there was something in my pocket.
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Hello, director.
- Welcome.
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Is it shocking to call the Petit Palais
the 20th century's Beaubourg?
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Not at all. Beaubourg consists of
floor plates and glass walls around it.
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Here, we also have
two floor plates and large windows,
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whether they're behind you,
behind me, or to our left.
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I suppose more time was spent
building the Petit Palais
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than building Beaubourg in the 1970s.
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No, it took less time.
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It took two and a half years to build it
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with concrete, iron and glass
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and all the mosaic under our feet.
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We're in quite an opulent,
bourgeois building with many references,
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but it's also modern with
metal structures and colossal windows.
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This building wouldn't exist
without concrete.
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The Metro was also
created for the 1900 Paris Exposition
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using concrete and iron.
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And when you look down
at the stairs you climbed,
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they have a red aisle on the stones,
so it's kind of like a red carpet,
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which is constantly open
for the public to walk on.
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Who is Charles Girault,
the Father of the Petit Palais?
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He was a man whose talent
drew great appeal at the time.
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This building was a great success
for him and led to many projects
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in Belgium and Latin America.
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What would become of this museum
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this new, Parisian museum
in the 20th century?
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Its contemporary art collections
continued to grow around 1900
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and the City of Paris
continued to acquire works,
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including Fauve and Cubist works
through donations or purchases.
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We have a beautiful icon collection
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which was given
to the Petit Palais in 1998.
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The museum was home to
Ancient Greek collections
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until the turn of the 21st century.
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Anything is possible here.
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We can display art
through digital screens,
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we can use
the theater auditorium for music.
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So, anything of caliber
can be displayed here.
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Hi, Patrick Lemasson.
- Hello.
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You're a curator at the Petit Palais.
Let's discuss patronage
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because there are
some rich, generous people
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who have donated a lot,
notably the Tucks who are Americans
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and who donated objects from
the 1600s and 1700s in the 20th century.
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Let's take a look at them as we talk.
Who were the Tucks?
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They were an American couple.
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Edward Tuck was a banker
for the first half of his life,
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HEAD CURATOR IN CHARGE
OF 17TH AND 18TH CENTURY ART OBJECTS
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before later dedicating himself
to collecting important works of art.
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What exactly is this?
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That is probably a comedy scene
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illustrating what one could
refer to as old, absurd art.
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There are various versions,
this one is German Saxe porcelain.
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We can see this old fogey
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who's in a tight embrace
with a young woman.
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It used colored backgrounds
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which was
a Sèvres specialty at the time.
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That was made by Sèvres porcelain?
Wow.
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Absolutely.
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This one is earthenware.
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You can see the difference between
this translucent porcelain material,
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whereas earthenware
is classically used in pottery
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and finished with a shiny glaze.
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This hanging was drawn by
the painter François Boucher in 1741.
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You can see Boucher's name there
without the 'r'.
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They must have done it quickly
or the weaver missed out the 'r'.
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This is about the story of Psyche,
so it draws from Greek mythology.
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This room contains
two historical tapestries.
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For those of you who are eagle-eyed,
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you can see,
as this was done very subtly,
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along the length of the column,
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you can see
from the cushion on the stool,
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that it is slightly lopsided there.
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I told Beauvais's tapestry weavers
to be careful.
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But it's still visible.
- You've aged well.
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It's fabulous that an American
in the 1900s just made a donation.
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He donated his collection,
subject to usufruct in 1921,
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meaning he kept it during his lifetime.
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In reality, when his wife,
Julia Stell, died in 1928,
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he revoked the usufruct clause
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and, in 1930, the collections came here.
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The curator at the time,
made this space available
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in the North Gallery
on the first floor of the Petit Palais
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so that it would be
opposite the Champs-Élysées.
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The Tucks had their own hotel
on Avenue des Champs-Élysées
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so, it was kind of a nod to them.
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Thank you, Patrick.
- My pleasure.
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Since I'm a thorough visitor,
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I made a note
of five or six objects in particular
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which I wanted you to discover.
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One of them is this sedan chair
from the Tuck collection.
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Why is it interesting? It belonged
to Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans
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who is none other
than Louis XIV's niece.
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So, that's her sedan chair.
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The second piece is a painting.
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It's a portrait of Sarah Bernhardt.
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It was painted by Clairin, who was
a painter and her lover for many years.
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He featured her several times
and this is one of the most interesting
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because you can see her
in this voluptuous, white, satin dress
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and it really is
a very sensual Sarah Bernhardt there.
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Equally, Woman with Monkey
is a captivating work of art.
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This mysterious and aloof woman
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made from stonework and bronze in 1908
by Camille Alaphilippe.
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In my opinion, it's one of
the most moving works of art here.
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Then there's
Organ Pipe Clock with a Monkey Orchestra.
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It was around 1760 and you can see
all these monkeys playing music.
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In the 18th century, this was
a truly high-end, well-made piece
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which was probably commissioned
by a large aristocratic family.
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And finally,
a painting by Gustave Courbet:
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Firemen Running to a Fire.
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It's from 1851 and it really evokes
the nocturnal atmosphere of these fires
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which must have been commonplace
in the capital's back alleys.
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We're now going to see
a grand unveiling.
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Dominique, hello.
- Hello.
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You're a curator.
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I'm commissioner
for the Giuseppe De Nittis exhibition.
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Who is that?
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He's an Italian painter
who we're lucky to show off in Paris
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for the first time since 1886.
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A 19th century painter.
- Exactly.
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So, what's happening here?
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We're going to discover
one of De Nittis's pastels
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featuring Edmond de Goncourt.
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This is a piece that was lent to us
by the Goncourt Academy
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and there's a surprise inside.
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You don't know what it is?
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I've never seen it. I've seen the copy,
but I'm discovering it with you now.
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They put tape on it?
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We put tape on it
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because the work is protected by glass
so we want to avoid breaking it.
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When unpacking or transporting it,
we crisscross tape over it.
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Is this moving for you?
- Yes, completely.
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This is Edmond de Goncourt,
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the great literary critic
of the 19th century.
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There were two brothers.
- Yes, they wrote a journal together.
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They also set up the Prix Goncourt.
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We haven't seen
this Italian painter in France...
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Since 1886.
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There was a small exhibition in a gallery
two years after his death
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and this is
De Nittis's grand return to Paris.
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De Nittis exhibited his work in 1874
with the impressionists.
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It was his finest hour.
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He died aged 38
after barely making a name for himself.
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Fans of Tintin
will probably remember the first page
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of The Broken Ear.
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There's a museum attendant
who's dusting the artwork here
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and he finds out that
the Broken Ear statue has been stolen.
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Would you believe that
dusting artwork is a real job.
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You'll find out now, take a look.
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There are loads of little folds
where the dust gathers
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and it doesn't look clean.
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I look at the artwork layer by layer
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MUSEUM WORKER
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and see how it ended up
being such an impressive piece.
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We soak up a bit of history.
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PATINATED PLASTER SCULPTURE
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Since I've been at the museum,
I've learned a lot.
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They're working on Ugolino
by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux,
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which is one of his masterpieces
that we're lucky to have.
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They're cleaning it
as it gathers dust quickly.
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HERITAGE CUSTODIAN
IN CHARGE OF SCULPTURES
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You don't notice it on white plaster,
but you see it on dark.
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If it's dusty, visitors run their finger
along it like at home: "Dirty!"
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That puts the work in danger.
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Shoes gather the most dust.
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Can you imagine?
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It gathers a bit on the windows
and a lot on shoes.
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We never use our hands,
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we use tools that
have been recommended by restorers.
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ARTWORK STEWARD
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We use soft brushes
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because as soon as
you touch it with your hands,
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you leave a thin layer of grease
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which will alter the whole material.
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This is what
we were talking about before.
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Can you see the difference between
the original color of the marble
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and the color of the worn marble
which is yellowish?
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We restored it in 2005, but the restorer
couldn't get rid of the yellow tone
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which has been touched quite a bit
by our greasy, little fingers.
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It's been in the museum since 1922,
so imagine how many fingers.
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We had to brainstorm
with the design architect
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so that it would never be touched again
and we decided to create distance.
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It has to be awkward
for the visitors to touch it,
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so that it remains untouched as of 2005.
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Can you see it OK? Because sometimes
there are reflections on the paintings.
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Can I sit with you?
- Yes, if you want.
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Hi, Damien.
- Hi.
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Hi, kids.
- Hi.
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There's something special going on here:
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it seems that you're one of few museums
in Paris, and maybe even France,
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which specializes
in educating little children.
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It's normally for teenagers, but you're
bold enough to include little ones.
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PLASTIC ARTIST
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We're open to the whole public,
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but we do have a lot of success
with preschoolers.
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I like to get the kids
to look at the paintings like cats.
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Does anyone have a cat at home?
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No.
- No?
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Have you ever noticed...
- I have a cat.
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Really? You may have noticed that
sometimes cats do this with their eyes.
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They squint but that doesn't
necessarily mean they're winking.
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It means you're closing your eyes
slightly, as if they were curtains
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and leaving a little gap.
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That's it.
Great job, you look like a little cat.
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And now look at the painting
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and tell me what you can see.
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By really squinting your eyes,
loads of things disappear.
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So, what's left, then?
- Sheep.
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Yes, we can see sheep.
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Cloud sheep or real sheep?
- Sheep.
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Oh, yes, you can see sheep.
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Why did you choose this painting?
What's interesting about it?
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00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:30,240
It has a pretty simple composition
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00:16:30,400 --> 00:16:34,400
with dividing lines
between the sky and the land.
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00:16:34,560 --> 00:16:38,800
The presence of sheep
is quite appealing to kids.
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00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:42,160
What I really wanted
was to have a contrasting sky.
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There are coloring pencils.
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00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:56,400
It's going to get dirty.
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00:16:56,560 --> 00:17:00,840
These are pieces of chalk
or they can also be called soft pastels.
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00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:05,760
Is this paper smooth?
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00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:08,200
Yes.
- No.
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00:17:08,360 --> 00:17:12,240
It's not completely smooth,
there are little strips.
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00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:16,560
See, Vincent? There are
loads of little strips on the paper.
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00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:21,600
This is a special paper
which absorbs the chalk more easily.
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00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:27,440
What are you doing?
- A huge carrot melting into the ground.
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00:17:27,600 --> 00:17:30,760
A huge carrot melting into the ground.
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00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:33,480
He doesn't say much,
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00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:39,120
but he has understood the binary element
of landscapes in the 19th century:
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the land, the stormy sky.
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00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:45,800
And what are you doing here?
- Trees.
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00:17:45,960 --> 00:17:50,720
Picasso and Braque didn't draw better
than these guys when they were six.
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They were no better.
- No. Up to here. OK?
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00:17:54,320 --> 00:18:00,000
Then clean it up like modeling clay.
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00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:30,400
Brace yourselves to see something
truly incredible.
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00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:34,280
First, I'm going to introduce you
to Amélie Simier, hello.
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You're a curator here,
you deal with sculptures in particular.
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00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:43,880
We're going to talk about
an incredible person who did all this.
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00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:45,960
Take a look at these frogs.
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00:18:46,120 --> 00:18:49,720
They're captivating frogs
because they look like sketches
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00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:52,200
for a modern-day Sci-Fi film,
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00:18:52,360 --> 00:18:54,240
but they're a century old.
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00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:57,880
They are around a century old.
They're full of pus, monstrous...
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HERITAGE CUSTODIAN
IN CHARGE OF SCULPTURES
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… they have bird beaks,
clawed feet, rabbit ears,
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a surprising surface
which looks like a brain.
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00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:12,640
These are amazing creatures
from his imagination in the 1880s.
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00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:27,960
What are these?
Scary masks?
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00:19:28,120 --> 00:19:29,600
Three from the same mold
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00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:32,680
and depending on the enameling,
it gets scarier.
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00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:37,400
Look at this one. With its tiny pustules
and bulging eyes, it's terrifying.
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00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:40,120
You talk about pustules
with such enthusiasm.
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00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:42,840
It's nice to share a passion
for the artist.
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00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:47,400
So, there's the artist,
his name is Jean Carriès.
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00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:51,400
He was quite a poor, bohemian artist.
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00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:53,600
Where did he work?
Lyon? Paris?
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00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:55,240
He was born in Lyon, poor,
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00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:59,040
and was the son of a shoemaker
who died at 39 from tuberculosis.
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00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:04,840
He was raised by nuns
and learned to create church sculptures.
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00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:08,560
He was one of
the inventors of color in sculpture.
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Come on over with your camera
and look at these extraordinary figures.
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You wonder how he came up with them
and then sculpted them.
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00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:21,280
Look, it's a small, terrifying girl.
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00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:24,760
What is she crushing?
A puppet?
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00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:28,560
I think she's crushing a puppet.
It's called L'Infant.
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00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:32,640
Carriès's biography says
that she hears death coming.
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00:20:32,800 --> 00:20:35,840
This one has sold
an absurd amount of copies.
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00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:38,520
There are other figures like this one
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which takes you back into
Carriès's imagination.
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00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:47,520
For example, this tongue
is perhaps being devoured by a snake.
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This is one of
Carriès's most terrifying pieces.
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00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:53,480
It's hidden on the other side of a door
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00:20:53,640 --> 00:20:56,560
which he made
for a rich American backer.
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00:20:56,720 --> 00:20:58,680
This woman was Winnaretta Singer,
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00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:02,000
one of the heirs of Isaac Singer,
who invented the sewing machine.
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00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:06,240
At 24, she commissioned a project
for her workshop to be decorated.
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00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:11,120
It was supposed to evoke
a Wagnerian world. She was a musician.
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00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:16,560
What she pictured was elves,
dwarves, mythological creatures.
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00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:19,560
And when she saw that?
- Instead she got a fright.
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00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:22,400
This was the fruit
of Carriès's nightmares
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00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:25,240
and she found herself
taking center stage
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as a figure holding a cat
and crushing a snake,
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a terrifying image of her.
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00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:34,240
Where did he look for that inspiration?
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00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:37,320
We don't know. It's good
when art has an air of mystery.
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00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:42,600
In his nightmares and hallucinations...
- Did he take any substances?
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00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:48,440
He probably took opium to relieve
his pain at the end of his life.
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00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:49,800
That explains it!
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00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:01,960
You can see Le Sommeil
by Gustave Courbet.
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00:22:02,120 --> 00:22:05,720
There are lots of paintings
by Gustave Courbet here.
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00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:09,720
Look how funny this is.
There are photos around the Petit Palais
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00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:14,600
which are a throwback
to more classical 19th century works.
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00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:20,200
Why? Because to commemorate
25 years of Reporters Without Borders,
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00:22:20,360 --> 00:22:23,920
there are photos
taken by photojournalists on display.
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00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:27,480
This is Pierre
and Alexandra Boulat's work,
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00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:33,520
famous photojournalists
who have given us captivating images.
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00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:38,080
This is scattered
all around the Petit Palais.
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We're in the large format gallery,
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where you can see the great painters
of the 19th century and great sculptors.
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00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:49,800
But it's up to you
to discover the little gems
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00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:55,080
of this temporary exhibition
on Pierre and Alexandra Boulat,
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00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:58,200
which are spread all over the place.
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00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:51,200
I'm back with Gilles Chazal,
the manager of the Petit Palais.
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We're on the first floor
and we're going to talk about
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00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:57,560
great stories, and this is a good one.
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00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:01,760
The Petit Palais came into existence
in 1900 and became a museum in 1902.
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00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:07,280
In this specific year,
two rich brothers, the Dutuit brothers,
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00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:09,920
the second of whom passed away
in 1902,
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00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:12,400
offered their collection
to this brand new house.
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GENERAL CUSTODIAN
AND MANAGER OF THE PETIT PALAIS
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00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:19,320
This ensured that this modern art museum
became an ancient art one, too.
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There were some fabulous collections
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including, as you see here,
Greek and Roman artwork.
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00:24:25,160 --> 00:24:27,240
If you go into the rooms,
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00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:31,120
there are Italian Majolica,
Renaissance enamels,
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00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:32,880
Dutch and Flemish paintings.
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00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:37,720
So, they really wanted to
take great delight in their collection,
330
00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:42,360
but to one day donate it
so that all young creators
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could admire all these objects
and make their own creations.
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So, there's Eugène and Auguste Dutuit,
it's the end of the 19th century
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and they've amassed some 15,000 pieces.
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00:24:58,320 --> 00:25:01,520
The Dutuits are true partners
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00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:03,920
because they donated art
and their fortune.
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00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:09,640
So, we've also enjoyed their resources
which have enriched the collection.
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00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:14,160
There's always a hint of jealousy
when we talk about
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00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:17,600
great American patrons
such as Rockefeller
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00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:21,400
who gave money away to museums.
340
00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:24,600
French capitalism also existed
in the 20th century
341
00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:27,520
and there was a generosity
and thirst for knowledge
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which resulted in interesting donations.
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00:25:30,120 --> 00:25:33,320
Rockefeller and the others were just
following the example of the Dutuits.
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00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:37,480
We don't talk enough about
the Dutuit brothers, Eugène and Auguste.
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00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:39,560
Thanks, Eugène and Auguste.
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00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:20,920
All that's left to say is that
the Petit Palais is free to visit.
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00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:25,000
It's a museum in Paris
which is free for the most part,
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00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:27,600
notably, for the permanent exhibitions.
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00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:30,520
The Petit Palais is also open
six out of seven days a week.
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Every day except Mondays,
and on Thursdays, it's open until 8 PM.
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That's all the info.
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00:26:36,360 --> 00:26:38,440
See you next week, goodbye.
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Subtitles:
Babel Subtitling - babelSUB.be