Interview
Around the exhibition a passion for China, The Adolphe Thiers Collection, temporarily presented in Paris, at the Musée du Louvre, from May 14 to August 25, 2025
It's a little-known fact that Chinese art has a strong presence at the Louvre. The museum holds over 600 works of Chinese origin. Recent research has brought to light works from the Adolphe Thiers collection, 19th-century French journalist, historian and politician.
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Bringing together 170 artefacts, mainly from the 18th and 19th centuries, the exhibition focuses on Thiers's passion for Chinese civilization. The curator, Jean-Baptiste Clais, tells us more on the preparation of the exhibition for Asia Week Paris.
With Jean-Basptiste Clais, head curator of the Objets d'Art department at the Musée du Louvre.
Before we begin, could you briefly describe your background ?
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I began my studies at the École du Louvre, completing the first cycle and then specializing in museology. At the same time, I pursued studies in ethnology at the University of Paris V, eventually earning a Ph.D. in social and political anthropology. My interest in Asia developed gradually, initially through Japan. My first position at the Louvre was in the Department of Islamic Art, where I was responsible for the collection of arms and Mughal art (on which I have just co-published in December 2024 a book with Corinne Lefèvre, edited by Citadelles & Mazenod).I discovered Japan while curating an exhibition in Tokyo. Alongside my work at the museum, I conducted ethnological research on contemporary pop culture (video games, manga, animated films, science fiction). Since Japan holds a particularly prominent place in this field, I became quite familiar with East Asia. Thus, when I joined the Guimet Museum to work on China, I also undertook projects related to Japanese pop culture. In 2017, I joined the Department of Objets d'Arts, where I am responsible for the Asian collections and porcelain.
© Jean-Baptiste Clais
An exhibition dedicated to the Louvre’s Chinese collections — now that is something truly unique!
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​Aside from the exhibition curated by Jean-Paul Desroches in 2011, which explored the parallels between the Forbidden City and the Louvre Palace, this is the first time since the end of World War II that Chinese artworks from the Louvre’s own holdings are being shown to the public. In 1945, the Louvre’s Department of Asian Arts was dissolved, and its collections were transferred to the Guimet Museum, newly designated as the National Museum of Asian Arts.
What remained for the Chinese art collection?
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Indeed, not all Asian artworks disappeared from the Louvre in 1945. In addition to the Indian pieces housed in the Islamic Art Department, two significant collections remained in the Decorative Art Department, preserved due to the specific conditions tied to their bequests: the Chinese objects from the collection of Baroness Adèle de Rothschild and those from the collection of Adolphe Thiers, the first president of the French Third Republic.
Both collections mainly feature Qing dynasty pieces. Although the Thiers collection also includes Japanese lacquerware, it is the Chinese art which forms the larger and more significant portion. For the first time, we are bringing these exceptional pieces together in an exhibition that sheds light on how Thiers assembled this collection.
Chalice Gu. Qing Dynasty ©GrandPalaisRmn (Musée du Louvre). Stéphane Maréchalle
Let us begin with Adolphe Thiers (1797–1877) and his enduring fascination with China.
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This fascination started during his adolescence, it long preceded the public and political prominence he would later achieve. Art, for him, was above all a means of forging and affirming his social position. Though his passion for Chinese civilization appears deeply personal and the sincerest.
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He was an ambitious figure, so much so that Balzac is said to have drawn inspiration from him for the character of Rastignac. Thiers was born in Marseille to a modest bourgeois family. He grew up under the shadow of the Empire, following Napoleon’s exploits with fervent admiration. A gifted student and a tireless worker, he pursued legal studies in Aix-en-Provence, where he earned his law degree.
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Upon arriving in Paris, Thiers embarked on a career in journalism and quickly secured the patronage of Talleyrand. He distinguished himself above all through his monumental History of the French Revolution, published between 1823 and 1827. This ten-volume work enjoyed remarkable commercial success, selling more than 80,000 copies and providing him with significant financial independence. Beyond its literary impact, the project allowed him to forge influential connections within French and European elites, networks he would call upon throughout his career.
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A pivotal actor in the fall of Charles X, Thiers went on to serve as Minister and later President of the Council under Louis-Philippe. It was during the 1830s, at the height of his political ascent, that he began to actively build his art collection. In 1833, following his marriage to Elise Dosne, he established his collection at the Hôtel Dosne, Place Saint-Georges, which became his primary residence.
Thiers remains a polarizing figure. For his adversaries, he epitomized the arriviste — vulgar, unscrupulous, corrupt, and arrogant. For his supporters, he was a cultivated mind, a formidable orator, and a sharp intellect. Even his harshest critics acknowledged his remarkable intelligence.
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Determined to craft his image as a true patron and connoisseur of the arts, Thiers orchestrated a deliberate strategy of self-promotion. Notably, he chose to have himself depicted among his artworks on the title page of his History of the Consulate and the Empire, a visual motif presents in both the first edition (1845) and the reedition (1865). He also encouraged the publication of numerous laudatory articles extolling his refined taste and the quality of his collection. Though these accounts often veer into hagiography, they nonetheless offer us with valuable insights into the contents of Thiers’s collection prior to the destruction of the Hôtel Dosne in 1871.
Page album contenant 12 scènes diverses. Ye Chenxue. © GrandPalaisRmn (Musée du Louvre). Mathieu Rabeau
Pot à pinceaux orné de l'Excursion à la falaise Rouge. ©GrandPalaisRmn (Musée du Louvre). Adrien Didierjean
Does this destruction ultimately create difficulties in tracing the provenance of these works, particularly those from China?
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Indeed. The suppression of the Commune de Paris in 1871, led by Thiers himself, had a profound impact on his collection. The Communards razed his private mansion to the ground. His collection, which had been seized, was largely destroyed in the fire at the Tuileries Palace, where the Communards had stored it. Yet not everything was lost: Thiers had hidden certain works, others were looted before the official seizure and later recovered, while some pieces were spirited away at the last moment. However, much of his correspondence was destroyed in these events, which significantly hampers our ability to fully trace the formation of his collection.
Through the press and the few surviving documents, we can establish that Thiers began assembling his Chinese collection as early as the 1820s, with a marked increase during the 1830s, and that most acquisitions were made before 1860. Bequeathed to the Louvre in 1881, the works from his collection were described in a catalogue published in 1884, authored primarily by Charles Blanc, an art historian and loyal supporter of Thiers.
The catalogue details a collection comprising, on one hand, Egyptian and Greek antiquities, and on the other, Renaissance works (including terracotta sculptures, bronzes, marbles, ivories, Venetian glass, and copies after Old Masters). As for the Asian artworks (encompassing pieces from both China and Japan), the collection included: 17 Chinese paintings, 15 Chinese and Japanese bronzes, 15 cloisonné enamels from China and Japan, 30 agates, jades, and hardstone carvings, 11 carved or inlaid wooden pieces, 23 ivories, 65 Japanese lacquer works, and 106 porcelains from China or Japan (including 25 vases).
Was Adolphe Thiers a pioneer in collecting Chinese art in the 19th century ?
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Undoubtedly, his specific appreciation for China set him apart from his contemporaries.
In 1831, he wrote the following letter to Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat (1788–1832), then holder of the Chair of Chinese and Tartar-Manchu Languages and Literatures at the Collège de France : "For the past twenty years, I have had a genuine passion for the arts of China, and I have done what I could to gather a few examples of what the Chinese know how to create." Thus, Thiers’s interest in Chinese art emerged very early — around 1811, while he was still in Aix-en-Provence — at a time when France, due to the Napoleonic wars, was effectively cut off from China.
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Moreover, Thiers was even more of a pioneer in his method of collecting, which in many respects was strikingly modern. He did not seek to assemble masterpieces for their prestige alone, but rather to create a broad panorama of Chinese civilization. His art collection was complemented by a substantial library and a trove of documents, now preserved at the Fondation Thiers. He gathered books on all aspects of Chinese life — history, porcelain, tea culture, religions and philosophies — alongside illustrated volumes, maps, geographical treatises, and works depicting Chinese costumes, architecture, and landscapes. Thiers aspired to write a universal history of art, in which Chinese art would be placed on an equal footing with Italian art — a project that, ultimately, would never come to fruition.
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Despite this deep passion, Thiers never traveled to China. In 1829, he declined the opportunity to join Captain Laplace’s expedition, which would have taken him there. Nevertheless, he maintained an extensive network of correspondents — sinologists, travelers, military officers, diplomats, collectors, missionaries, and dealers — all connected to China.
Alongside building his library, he acquired porcelain, jades, lacquers, cloisonné enamels, and paintings through friends, during trips across Europe, and at major auctions. Among these was the sale of the collection of Chrétien-Louis-Joseph de Guignes (1759–1845), a sinologist and interpreter for the Dutch embassy to Emperor Qianlong. Of note, are two works now housed at the Fondation Thiers: an album of views of the Summer Palace and an illustrated Chinese album of vases from the imperial collection. The latter originated from the 1810 sale of the library of Firmin Didot (1767–1836), who had himself acquired it during the dispersal of the collection of Minister Bertin, one of the greatest collectors of Chinese art at the end of the 18th century.
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Bouteille à décor de fleur et oiseau et de poème. Chine, Pékin, atelier impérial de la Cité interdite. Règne empereur Qianlong. © GrandPalaisRmn (Musée du Louvre) Stéphane Maréchalle
Immortels dans un paysage. Dynastie Ming, avant 17ème siècle © GrandPalaisRmn (Musée du Louvre) Mathieu Rabeau
Chinese porcelain seems to be a passion for him.
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Thiers was recognized during his lifetime for his knowledge of Chinese porcelain, a subject on which he intended to write. His collection was considered a reference on the topic in Paris. In 1851, the eminent sinologist Stanislas Julien (1797–1873), who succeeded Abel Rémusat at the Collège de France in 1832, wrote to him requesting a grant to publish his translation of a history of Chinese porcelain. Thiers reviewed the manuscript. He also reviewed the proofs of the work that would become a reference in the field, Artistic, Industrial and Commercial History of Porcelain by Jacquemart (1862). One piece from his collection is reproduced in the book.
Faceted covered vase decorated with figures. Qing dynasty, Yongzheng period © GrandPalaisRmn (Musée du Louvre) Mathieu Rabeau
In addressing such a rich subject — halfway between historical investigation, the reconstitution of a collector’s interior, and the life of a Sinophile — how did you conceive the exhibition layout?
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The exhibition presents the figure of Adolphe Thiers: his career, the way he arranged his artworks within his private mansion, his strategic use of the press to promote his collection, and his passion for Renaissance art. It then explores his interest in China, focusing on his Chinese library, his fascination with ancient China, and his connections with the sinologists and travelers of his time. The next section, titled "Imagining China," examines how Thiers constructed his own vision of Chinese culture, notably through paintings. Certain key aspects of Chinese culture are unevenly represented in his collection — for example, the underrepresentation of scholar’s objects — reflecting the limitations of his understanding. The second part of the exhibition delves into the "Three Teachings" of China — Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism — followed by a focus on Thiers’s porcelain collections and concludes with works related to the imperial collections.
And it seems that it is in this last section that you are presenting an important imperial painting?
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Thiers's collection of paintings was recognized during his lifetime as unique. He had more than a dozen scrolls at home. He was one of the very first collectors of Chinese painting in France. His “Powerful horses” scroll, shown at the start of the exhibition, was one of the very first Chinese paintings described in France, as early as 1856.
But it is another scroll that counts here: “Along the River, on the Day of the Qingming Festival (Qingming Shanghe Tu)”, painted by Yao Wenhan for the emperor Qianlong, and including a poem written by the emperor himself, along with all his seals. Measuring 4.31m long, this large scroll is a reinterpreted version of one of China's most iconic paintings, made by Zhang Ziduan (1085-1145) during the Song dynasty.
While it is not possible to establish the provenance of all the imperial pieces in this section, my research has nevertheless provided me with some interesting details. Thiers, who was opposed to the Opium Wars, seem to have deliberately avoided buying any of the works that resulted from the sack of the Summer Palace in 1860. Although he attended the sale of works by Colonel Charles-Louis Du Pin (1814-1868), he did not buy any Chinese objects, although he did buy Japanese works acquired in Japan by Du Pin.
All too often, the sack of the Qing emperors' Summer Palace is blamed for the origin of imperial pieces that have found their way into French and British collections, even though they may have left China much earlier and more legitimately. For example, two paintings from the Thiers collection depicting views of the Summer Palace, similar in style to the imperial album looted during the sack, and now in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, came from Charles Marchal de Lunéville. He travelled to China between 1851 and 1853. They cannot therefore come from the sack of the Summer Palace.
Along the River During the Qingming Festival
(Authentic imperial copy with the seal of Emperor Qianlong.)
Qing dynasty, Qianlong period. Yao Wenhan
© GrandPalaisRmn (Musée du Louvre). Mathieu Rabeau
As a foretaste of what our public will discover at the 8th edition of Printemps Asiatique in June, tell us about an emblematic work who hold dear?
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​Personally, I have a certain affection for a book Thiers had. It concerns the architecture of the Chinese, in which the bibliophile Firmin Didot (1764-1836) included drawings of the scholar stones. These were produced in China by a workshop that worked for the emperor, and for export in association with Minister Bertin, the great French Sinophile of the 18th century. There is something very moving about seeing emerge from the pages of this book this unfolded sheet of paper, showing these stones delicately depicted in color.
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