Olivier Palatre: Josephine

Olivier Palatre created the exhibition design for “Josephine” at Musée du Luxembourg referring to her era with gilt and pastel colours to give it a contemporary expression.

The personality of Josephine was shaped by history, and in turn she had a major influence on her time.

Her importance to her husband meant that she came to embody the values of the Empire and developed a passion for the arts, fine clothes, furniture and jewellery, for example. She was the incarnation of elegance and sobriety.

Just like Josephine, a timeless icon, the design of the exhibition includes references to the era; gilt and pastel colours given contemporary expression.

The visit is temporal, fluid, sequential and the visitor is guided using subtle changes of colour, picture rails and the exhibition furniture.

The visit for the first two sections – “Creole destiny” and “Living as Josephine, my life’s story”– is simple and linear, representing the passage of time, the rise of Josephine to her coronation. Then, for section three - “The depiction of a sovereign” – we enter the great hall, a room fit for an Empress. She is there, embodied by her dress. The exhibition continues through sections four and five – “Collecting, a passion” and “Entertainment, a passion for travel, music and gardens”. To achieve the right emphasis on Josephine’s collections, the objects fully occupy the space and are displayed in glass cabinets, precious jewellery cases. Finally, in section six – “The final years” – the visit is once again linear, as for the first sections, and leads us to a final portrait of the incomparable woman that she was.