The Art History Festival to take place 2-4 June 2017 in the town of Fontainebleau

The 7^th edition of the Festival de l’histoire de l’art will take place from Friday, June 2^nd to Sunday, June 4^th, 2017, in the town of Fontainebleau, in the park, at the château and on several sites in and around the city.

The Festival is a three-day entirely free international event that provides a crossroads between the world of professional art history and the public. Organized in collaboration by the ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, the Institut national d’histoire de l’art (INHA) and the Château de Fontainebleau, with the support of the ministère de l’Éducation nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche, its goal is to reach the broadest audience possible and offer a fascinating visual and contextualized experience of art. The Festival addresses a wide array of visual arts: from ancient to contemporary, painting to photography, performance to decorative arts; it also considers architecture and digital arts. During the three days of the Festival, more than 350 conferences, debates, tours, concerts, exhibitions, films, lectures, and workshops are offered to the public – free of charge and without reservation.

The Festival invites 300 professionals of the art world (artists, professors, curators, art dealers, art publishers, students etc.) to present their expertise to a large audience in a scholarly yet passionate and accessible way. It goes beyond the usual academic borders, periods, and methods, providing an opportunity for the speakers to compare different practices in the domains of art history, heritage and culture.  It also offers those professionals a chance to meet, discuss and interact together on a large scale. Every year, the Festival focuses on two main topics (a theme and a guest country). This year, the theme selected by the scientific committee is Nature and the country the United States of America. The program consists of events around its annual theme, Nature, and guest country, the United States, as well as a film festival (Art & Caméra), a book fair, international student sessions and workshops for secondary teachers called the Spring University. It also offers tours, concerts, theater, and family activities.

In 2017, the Festival focuses on the subject of Nature. Specialists will present their research, ranging from the relations mankind develops with his surroundings to representation of different natural worlds in art (fauna, flora, vegetation, sea life), the symbolism of nature, and the art of gardening to the question of ecology. We will consider the history of landscapes from their representation in ancient Greece to Land Art. The presence of gardens and forests around Fontainebleau will set the stage and allow a personal experience of this broad subject.

Jeff Koons, Metalic Venus Rome /Jeff Koons, Gazing Ball Titian Mars Venus and Cupid / Jeff Koons, Antiquity 3

The Festival has chosen to honor the United States as its guest country for the 2017 edition. Thanks to the financial help of the Getty, the Terra, and the Annenberg Foundations, the Festival invites American lecturers to present the state of the current research in art history in the United States as well as introduce American art to a French audience. Some of the lectures and panels will be held in English. Jeff Koons will be an invited artist to the 7th edition of the Festival.