Off-site exhibition Versailles and China in 120 masterpieces

From 18 December 2024 to 4 May 2025 the Hong Kong Palace Museum is hosting the exhibition The Forbidden City and the Palace of Versailles, devoted to interactions between China and France in the 17th and 18th centuries. A selection of masterpieces, primarily from the collections of the Palace of Versailles and the Palace Museum, Beijing, tells the story of the special relationship which existed between these two countries during the Ancien Régime.

The exhibition

Versailles and the Middle Empire 

The exhibition at the Hong Kong Palace Museum shines a spotlight on the diplomatic policy pursued by Louis XIV to reach out to his contemporary, Emperor Kangxi. In 1685, French Jesuit fathers were sent to China and were admitted to the court in Peking as the king’s mathematicians. A relationship built on mutual trust and respect was forged between the two countries which lasted until the end of the 18th century. This unusual state of affairs played a key role in the emergence of modern Sinology in France.

A taste for China 

The vogue for China and its art at the French court manifested itself in four main phenomena: importing Chinese objets d’art; modifying them by adding gilt-bronze mounts to porcelain or using lacquered panels on French furniture; imitating Chinese wares, for example by engaging in frantic efforts to discover the secret of manufacturing porcelain using kaolin. Lastly, Chinese art exerted a strong influence on French art, notably in the field of the decorative arts. 

The exhibition therefore highlights the extent to which Chinese art became an endless source of inspiration for French artists and intellectuals in the fields of painting, objets d’art, interior decor, architecture, garden design, literature, music, and the sciences. The works assembled in Hong Kong illustrate the genuine fascination exerted by all things Chinese on the court of Versailles and major French collectors. The exhibition also underscores the keen interest shown by Chinese emperors in the 17th and 18th centuries in French scientific knowledge and know-how.

A collaboration which has stood the test of time 

In April 2024, an exhibition in the Forbidden City in Beijing organized by the Palace Museum and the Palace of Versailles inaugurated the sixtieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France. This exhibition, which attracted more than 175,000 visitors, set the precedent for this new event at the Hong Kong Palace Museum, opening on 18 December, which features prestigious acquisitions made by Versailles in the last decade.

What also makes this exhibition distinctive is the fact that it sets Chinese and French collections in counterpoint and this dialogue makes it possible to explore these two cultures’ mutual interest in each other. Furthermore, the scientific collaboration between teams at the Palace of Versailles and the Palace Museum has led to the rediscovery of objects which have never previously been exhibited, and has fostered a better understanding of this long historical association.

Some works of art 

Exhibition curators

Marie-Laure de Rochebrune, General Heritage Curator, Palace of Versailles.

Guo Fuxiang, Research Fellow, Palace Museum, and Wenxin Wang, Associate Curator, with contributions from Assistant Curators Phoebe Yin and Mia Ma, Hong Kong Palace Museum.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Exhibition dates: 18 December 2024 to 4 May 2025 at the Hong Kong Palace Museum, China 

Address: 8 Museum Drive West Kowloon, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Opening times: 10am – 6pm (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday)
10am – 8pm (Friday, Saturday and public holidays) 
Closed on Tuesdays and on the first two days of the Lunar New Year (29 and 30 January 2025)

Ticket prices: Full rate: HK$150, reduced rate: HK$75