Combining a magical setting marked by the presence of the Rhone and an architecture replete with courtyards, galleries and loggias, the Réattu museum feels like a theatre in its own right. Inside lies a veritable maze through which legendary figures have passed - from the Knights of Malta to the great figures of contemporary art, and including Jacques Réattu and Pablo Picasso.
The theatre performed here takes the form of installations, whose "script" has been composed many years earlier. Always taking their cue from the place, they are allowed to unfold freely, without being tied to any one era, style or technique.
This year's cast features recurrent figures from the museum's story - Tatius, the Harlequin and the Musketeer. Past guests, such as Pierre Alechinsky and Dieter Appel have returned to add zest to the challenge of installation. New faces, such as that of Javier Perez, also engage in sensitive or startling dialogue with works from the collection.
In a succession of "setpieces", this installation combines highlights, revisiting different themes associated with the world of theatre: decor and illusion, mask and shadow, life and death. In the middle of the visit, the rooms dedicated to the Picasso drawings take a monographic turn, showcasing the major ensembles of the collection. The high point of these great monologues is the recent donation of 45 works by Evelyn Ortlieb. Marking an important new phase in constituting the collection, it is also a vibrant tribute to the bond uniting the artist and the museum.
Act V : The last act in a piece of theatre à la française, when all the strands of the plot are resolved. The end of a cycle in the museum's story, revealing the collection in all its finery, before a new era sweeps in. Let the show commence!
