Until January 27, 2019, the Cognacq-Jay Museum is offering La Fabrique du luxe, an exhibition with an original subject: The merchants merciers in Paris in the eighteenth century and the manufacture of the taste of the elites.
Marchands Merciers: a little-known corporation
Here is a very original subject, in four rooms plus the attic and a tour of the permanent collections, the Cognacq-Jay Museum offers a dive into a corporation relatively unknown to the general public: the merchants merciers. These characters of the shadows are nevertheless preponderant in the taste and economy of the eighteenth century especially in the "Factory of luxury" for the elites. Intermediaries between the powerful and artisans, these traders offered luxury items to furnish the most opulent interiors of the capital.
Porcelain, furniture, fabrics, candelabras, works of art, the merchants merciers are the great masters of the taste of the European courts of the eighteenth century. Very organized corporation, with the specificity of associating trade with the distance, orders to the most prestigious manufactures and orders to craftsmen, but also requests for reassembly or transformation of parts, creation of decorations for furniture or paneling, in short real artistic directors of the time. The great houses were bequeathed from father to son, to the son-in-law or nephew. Each paid an annual contribution to compensate those who had suffered a reversal of fortune, but also to compensate widows or injured workers; An amazing mutual aid system at that time in such a competitive environment. Indeed, while bankruptcies are relatively numerous, stocks are bought back at very respectable prices so as not to push a former colleague further or to ensure his family enough to live.
Many testimonials of intense activity
In order to better understand this profession today unknown, the exhibition compares various products, furniture, trinkets, inventory books, written testimonials of customers or visitors, but also advertising, invoices and even a preserved sign that of "little Dunkirk". The attic offers to literally enter the famous sign that Watteau painted for his friend Gersaint.
On the side of the scenography, it's the "wow" effect; Each piece is highlighted and associated with a famous dealer or family. The comments are bilingual and the evocative sets suggest a room period without falling into caricature. Wallpaper is as useful as cartels. Chronologies and maps make it possible to locate these prestigious businesses in time and space.
To conclude, the exhibition La Fabrique du luxe, although relatively small, impresses with its selection of works, its scenography, but also with its pedagogy. We come out with eyes full of stars and richer knowledge about business practices before capitalism.
