Décors d'ambassades. Art et diplomatie française au XXe siècle. Beaux-arts attract the light but create

attract the light but create emptiness and silence around them

Chapter V – The Ruteni

they had to face all dangers to reach the fabulous riches of China

from the prosperity of Italian or Hanseatic ports to the draining of the Dutch marshes

Christian Boltanski is recognized today as one of the major artists of the contemporary scene

Décors d'ambassades. Art et diplomatie française au XXe siècle. Beaux-arts attract the light but createThe embassy decorations presented in this book retrace a century of diplomacy and the influence of French style abroad. They reveal the diplomatic role played by the decorative arts and, in counterpoint, their enrichment through contact with other cultures. From the first Art Nouveau and Art Deco ensembles to fin de sicle design, the most prestigious creators of their time meet on this world tour: Se and Mare in Warsaw, Francis Jourdain in Kabul, Jean