Diacronie. Studi di Storia Contemporanea (Jun 2014)

Exposition universelle de 1878. L’archéologie au service des contestations contemporaines

  • Bastien Noël est diplômé en histoire de l’art et muséologie à l’Ecole du Louvre (Paris); il a rédigé en 2011 un mémoire d’étude portant sur «Les antiques à l’Exposition universelle de 1878, à Paris», sous la direction d’Edouard Vasseur.

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 6, no. 2
pp. 1 – 13

Abstract

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The International Exhibition of 1878 takes place between Champ de Mars and the Trocadéro. After the defeat of Sedan and the Commune, the event offers to the world an image of the recovery of France and introduces the Third Republic. Despite their commercial nature, International Exhibitions aren’t restricted to a celebration of modern creations. Displayed through retrospectives, archaeological works of the 1878’s Exhibition substantially permeate their time. These pieces arouse nationalism and underlie political or religious disputes. They emphasize by contrast Human progress, or support by comparison the continuity of particular industrial practices.

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