Itinéraires (Nov 2022)
Objets authentiques, objets sacrés : de la construction de l’émotion patrimoniale
Abstract
This paper aims to identify the factors contributing to the emergence of emotion in set-ups staging heritage items. In order to demonstrate how literary exhibitions use the same means as the author’s construct of his/her own public image, we will focus on the emblematic example of late 19th century Belgian writer Emile Verhaeren. In an age of mechanical reproduction (Benjamin) and (almost) unlimited access, sacralization and authenticity reinforce the uniqueness of any visitor’s encounter with a heritage site or object. Exhibitions thus rely on effects of authenticity, creating a paradoxical reality in which the visitor and the writer seem to share intimacy.