Not even afraid
A catalogue of the eponymous exhibition at the Fondation Bemberg held in 2018 and an illuminating compendium of its legacy at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, the book takes an original look at the collection of skulls meticulously and secretly assembled by Baroness Henri de Rothschild.
Some collect shells, pebbles, owls… Baroness Henri de Rothschild (1874-1926), for her part, assembled a whole collection of skulls (trinkets, engravings, statues, paintings…). 180 pieces, from all eras, civilizations and techniques, having a close or distant relationship with the human skull and skeleton.
Tie clips, parasols, amulets… make up an astonishing macabre inventory, exhibited last September at the Bamberg Foundation. There is no written record of the Baroness’s motives and motivations. The only information was contained in her will, since she decided to donate it to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, where it is still kept today.
This catalogue has a twofold interest: that of examining the theme of vanity in an original way and that of discovering the intimacy of a collection meticulously and secretly assembled over a lifetime.
Not even afraid (Même pas peur)
under the supervision of Sophie Motsch
Éd. Somogy
