The Museum of Decorative Arts presents “The Language of Walls” from March 18 to June 28, 2026, an exhibition focused on the art of stamping. It brings together 19th-century Chinese pieces with contemporary imprints, all created directly on the stones of Notre-Dame de Paris during its restoration.
From March 18 to June 28, 2026, the Museum of Decorative Arts is showcasing an exhibition titled “The Language of Walls: Rubbing Techniques from China to Notre-Dame”. This display highlights the art of rubbing. Coinciding with the Drawing and Asian Spring Fair, the museum presents a unique selection of Chinese and French collections, featuring works from Eugène Grasset to Jean Dubuffet, including pieces by Émile-Auguste Reiber.
Around a hundred works, objects, and tools will give visitors a chance to explore both ancient and contemporary techniques in China, highlighted through recent rubbings created on the cathedral walls during the restoration process of Notre-Dame de Paris. This display features insights from Santiago Hardy, a catwalk specialist, and Delphine Syvilay, a research engineer at the Laboratory for Heritage Monuments (LRMH).
Stamping, a centuries-old technique, is fundamentally a way to preserve and embed our history in time—both through impressions and through contact. Reflecting these very contemporary impressions, the museum features around twenty examples made in China between 1890 and 1900, including bas-reliefs from funerary slabs, Buddhist cave carvings, and decorative friezes from steles. The exhibition continues with a selection of French examples from the 19th and 20th centuries, highlighting the aesthetic interest that artists of these periods had in the art of stamping.
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