The “Art et Elégance Richard Mille” event at the Château de Chantilly was an enveloping engagement of the senses, with the Inauguration of this two-day event dedicated to the Poussin painting “Le Massacre des Innocents.”
The painting depicts the Biblical event that took place when King Herod ordered the slaughter of every child then born within his kingdom, to prevent a rival from rising up to supplant his rule. Poussin painted a small infant, lying helpless under a sword poised in mid-strike. The horror of the moment is foreseen in the anguish of the eyes of the mother. The event has been the subject of many works, but the Poussin piece is particularly poignant as it focuses not on the many but on the one. It is a single family’s horror that we see taking place, a heartbeat away from the end of the child’s like and the beginning of the mother’s nightmare. The painting is not just striking in and of itself, it has inspired many other works of art down through the years, including Picasso’s “Charnier.”
Richard Mille’s Artistic Director Mélanie Treton-Monceyro had the idea of gathering pieces and performances inspired by the Poussin original. The exhibition took place at the Château de Chantilly, but the view outside was just as magnificent.
Outside the Château, the 4th edition of the world class automobile contest was taking place. 16,000 visitors showed up to witness the racing. For the Concours d’Etat, 90 classic cars made an appearance, while more than 800 behicles were seen in the Grand Prix des Clubs.
The “Art et Elégance Richard Mille” event at the Château de Chantilly was an enveloping engagement of the senses, with the Inauguration of this two-day event dedicated to the Poussin painting “Le Massacre des Innocents.”
There was also an equestrian display, and a celebration for the 70th anniversary of Ferrari. For the anniversary Ferrari showed off some 30 of its vehicles, all of which had been raced in the famous 24-hour Le Mans race.
With all that was going on, Richard Mille could rightfully claim that they had truly made manifest the name of Arts and Elegance, living in history for two days at the Château de Chantilly, and in memory for all the lives of those who were there.
