Spectaculaire Second Empire

Exhibition at the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, 27 September 2016 - 16 January 2017

A regime reviled in its time and reviled after its fall, the Second Empire was long marked by the decadent and superficial seal of the "imperial party". Against a backdrop of social upheaval, this period of prosperity was nonetheless a time of splendour and economic euphoria, of ostentation and multiple celebrations that should be re-examined today.

From the ephemeral decorations to the Haussmann transformations of Paris, from the imperial jewels to the eclecticism of the decorative arts, from Cabanel to Manet, this exhibition catalogue paints a portrait of an era that was abundant, brilliant and rich in contradictions at the source of our modernity.