For art's sake: France, China deepen cultural heritage ties

Louis-Samuel Berger, Palace of Versailles deputy managing director [Photo by Wang Kaihao/China Daily]

As a national symbol of France, the Palace of Versailles on the outskirts of Paris, also known as the Chateau de Versailles, is actively extending its global horizons in a bid to enhance its international standing.

For example, Versailles recently joined with 12 other top-level French museums to become part of an ambitious cultural project to loan portions of its collections on a long-term basis to the newly-opened Louvre Abu Dhabi in the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

At the same time, the museum, seat of France's permanent royal court from 1682 to 1789, also intends to forge closer ties with China.

"It is true that Versailles shares the Forbidden City's extravagance," Louis-Samuel Berger, deputy managing director of the institution, tells China Daily, citing a comparison with between the French palace and Beijing's Palace Museum.

"Versailles is ultimately a work of art. Its walls, its contents, and the space in which it is built ... everything is work of art," Berger says proudly.

Berger came to Tsinghua University in Beijing last week to join the cultural heritage panel at the Tsinghua Culture Creativity Forum, an occasion that invited professionals from all over the world to share their case studies in successful cultural development.

In 2016, the Palace of Versailles received 668,000 Chinese tourists, or 13 percent of the total number of visitors to the museum annually, after France and the United States, according to Berger.

"The interesting thing was that 29 percent of the guidance pamphlets were given to Chinese visitors, which shows they are more willing than other nationalities to read and learn about Versailles," Berger smiles.

Perhaps, that explains why the museum opened a public account on WeChat, the popular Chinese social media app, as early as in 2015.

In 2014, an exhibition called China in Versailles was held in the museum to display French artworks which particularly reflected Chinese characteristics.

"In the 17th and 18th centuries, the French (royal) court was very fond of China, and Versailles was greatly influenced by Chinese culture at that time," Berger recalls. "We gathered those works especially for our Chinese visitors."

And, in another sign of growing collaboration, Berger says curators from both countries are planning to bring collections from Versailles to be exhibited in major Chinese cities like Beijing and Shanghai.

Yet these exhibitions will be only a small part of the cooperation planned between Berger's institution and China.

Covering 800 hectares, the Palace of Versailles has 2,300 rooms and more than 70,000 pieces of art works, and Berger acknowledges that restoration is an ongoing challenge.

In 2003, the Palace of Versailles launched a long-term program of restoration and protection of its cultural heritage, which was planned over a period of 20 years at a cost of 400 million euros ($474 million).

"We are developing links (with China) in different ways," he said. "We are searching for philanthropists, and we are talking with Chinese companies interested in restoring parts of Versailles."

There have been some interesting coincidence and parallels too. The Palace Museum in Beijing began a similar 18-year comprehensive restoration project covering its major buildings just a year earlier.

And, as the Palace Museum began to expand its open areas in 2012 to try and ease its problem of overcrowding, the Palace of Versailles had already successfully adopted the same policy in 2010. Within the space of five years, Versailles managed to open up around 6,000 square meters of space to the public. 40 percent of the total area of the museum, which Berger claims unlocked "the most valuable parts" of the museum, is now accessible to the public.

About 80 percent of the funding for the Palace of Versailles comes from its own resources. The institution therefore has to provide more services to generate income, such as selling high-end souvenirs, operating restaurants, and opening an auditorium.

"We cannot wait for public subsidies," Berger explains. "We have to add creativity to ensure our sustainable development."

The experience gained in the management of Versailles can also benefit the restoration of Chinese cultural heritage as well.

For example, in September 2016, the Shaanxi provincial cultural heritage bureau and the French Foundation for the Science of Heritage, under the patronage of the French ministry of culture, signed a memorandum of understanding in Paris.

This kicked off a series of joint projects relating to the protection of cultural heritage, and the Palace of Versailles is listed as a key site in the process.

Collaboration and exchanges between art restoration professionals from Versailles and their Chinese counterparts soon followed in a bid to mutually train up experts in cultural restoration and protection, Berger adds.