An omnipresent artistic heritage
Art has its place in every corner of the Domaine du Montcel and the Hotel Dolce Versailles. The estate has drawn on its rich artistic and cultural past to bring out all this heritage. The contemporary works in the park blend with the Jouy canvases on the walls of the reception, bedrooms, restaurants and bar to pay tribute to Monsieur Oberkampf, the former owner of the estate and the first person to print these famous canvases. To enter the Domaine du Montcel is to immerse yourself in a rich artistic heritage and discover several centuries of art, from Impressionism to contemporary art, from painting to sculpture. Discovering the Domaine du Montcel during a weekend in Versailles is an exceptional cultural gift.
Long Term Parking - 1982
In 1982, artist, sculptor, and visual artist Arman created Long Term Parkinga monumental work in the heart of the Domaine du Montcel. The Franco-American artist's landmark work consists of a stack of fifty-nine actual carcasses set in concrete, forming a tower over nineteen meters high.
The choice of this accumulation of carcasses is not insignificant for Arman, whose work questions and focuses on objects representative of our consumer society and modernity: the car precisely symbolizes that. He also intends to show that even if the object is sacralized, this will not prevent its imminent destruction. In quantitative logic, the accumulation of identical objects erodes their singularity. It conveys an image of profusion and abundance while underlining the perishable nature of the products of the affluent society.
In the face of works of art whose very essence is to be immortal, Arman has achieved the feat of creating a work of art that ages with people. The end result of the work will be the total disappearance of the cars, leaving the empty spaces in the concrete. One day, all that will remain of the work will be the concrete tower, which itself may gradually be covered in ferns... until it disappears altogether?
Tribute to Eiffel - 1989
The Fondation Cartier's inaugural exhibition is dedicated to the contemporary artist César, who was made Commandeur des Arts et Lettres the same year.
It was against this backdrop that the artist undertook the creation of his Tribute to Eiffela giant 18-meter-high slab, with the cooperation of his assistants Jean-François Duffau and Christian Debout "Les Fers de César" (Caesar's Irons), a work destined for the grounds of the Fondation Cartier château. Les Fers César" was created using beams from the Eiffel Tower lightening operation. More precisely, the materials used were partly taken from fragments of an Eiffel Tower staircase dismantled during the work. These fragments of the Eiffel Tower purchased in 1983, are thus brought together in a vast tangle.
In 1989, the monumental sculpture was completed. It was inaugurated with great fanfare, performances, and fireworks in the Foundation's garden. A 6-meter-high plaque using the same elements as the Eiffel Tower was installed in the park of of the Yoshii Foundation in Japan the same year. César's work at Jouy en Josas thus has a little sister on the other side of the world, in Japan.
