In 2025,
the Palais Garnier celebrates the 200th anniversary of the birth of its
architect, Charles Garnier, as well as the 150th anniversary of the
inauguration of the Paris Opera.
To mark the occasion, Monnaie de Paris pays tribute to the Palais, its history
and especially that of the iconic ceiling in the auditorium.
The dome
overlooking the main auditorium of the Palais Garnier features two superimposed
works.
The one by Marc Chagall, created in 1964 at the request of André Malraux, has
retained all its freshness and topicality for 60 years. With his composition of
animated forms and luminous colours, dedicated to the 14 composers, the
artist's universal vision complements the views of those involved and the
spectators, past and present, of the opera, the dance and the architecture of
the building.
Beneath Chagall's ceiling is a copper painting commissioned
by Garnier from Jules-Eugène Lenepveu: Les Muses et les heures du jour et de la
nuit. This classic
masterpiece, painted in 1872, is a remarkable example of 19th-century academic
art, with its scenes rich in mythological and temporal symbols, reflecting the
aesthetic and cultural ambitions of the time.
With this
collection, Monnaie de Paris is making these two heritage pieces accessible and
celebrates the timelessness of these two artists.
On the
obverse of this coloured coin is Marc Chagall's fresco for the ceiling of the
main auditorium of the Garnier opera house, commissioned by André Malraux and
inaugurated in 1964. The central medallion on the coin is not usually visible
to visitors to the Palais Garnier, as it is hidden by the great chandelier that
lights up the auditorium.
The reverse depicts Jules-Eugène Lenepveu's 1872 work Les
Muses et les heures du jour et de la nuit. The face value of the coin and the name
"République Française" (French Republic) appear in the centre of the
composition, in the style and position of the grille that once supported the
large chandelier.
For each
composition, the décor surrounding the work is a reproduction of the mouldings
that adorn the real ceiling. The name of each artist and the year in which the
work was presented are inscribed on these ornaments.
