Exhibition : A Passion for China - The Adolphe Thiers Collection

At the Musée du Louvre

Until August 25th, 2025.

Another important event not to be missed this summer, near the glass pyramid in the rotunda of the Sully wing, is this unexpected exhibition on Chinese art. An exhibition particularly astonishing in terms of its collector, the former President of the Republic Adolphe Thiers 1797-1877. Indeed, it is unknown that Thiers, a great French statesman of the 19th century, was an enlightened and passionate collector of Chinese art. It is this collection of great finesse that is now being unveiled to the public. The visitor will discover in the first part of their visit the character of this major political figure, who was said to be "one of the most admired and most insulted men of his century," as well as his perspective on art, his passion for the Renaissance era, and the act of collecting. The second part presents the entirety of his collection, usually housed in the museum. Thiers was interested in both the history of China, its images, its costumes, its architecture, as well as its culture, its spiritual beliefs, its porcelain, and its imperial art. It is therefore a collection that is both rich and comprehensive, constituting a fascinating journey to the Land of the Rising Sun. Engravings, prints, porcelain, jades, ivories, bronzes from the 18th and 19th centuries are thus exhibited.

©DR

Rue de Rivoli

75001 Paris