OVID IN THE JURA -The Extraordinary Story of a Wallpaper

How did a decor fit for the Tuileries Palace find its way into a farm in the Bernese Jura? The exhibition at Château de Prangins explores a luxurious parlour decorated with wallpaper from the late 18th century – a masterpiece from the Swiss National Museum that is being shown in public for the first time – and tells the fascinating story of its colourful owner. This is a tale of wine, wallpaper, countryside and contraband!

Ovid in the Jura turns the spotlight on an exceptional gift that entered the collections in 2011: a wallpaper measuring 15 linear metres depicting Ovid’s Metamorphoses that was found in a farm in the Bernese Jura. On account of its size, rich iconography, state of preservation and rarity, this decor is a jewel of the Swiss National Museum and an object of international importance.

The Metamorphoses decor is an icon in the history of wallpaper. The precision of the draughtsmanship, the quality of the printing, the number of colours and the highly sophisticated installation reveal it to be the work of one of the great Paris factories in the late 18th century. But how to explain the presence of such luxurious wall hangings in the parlour of a farm located out in the Jura countryside?

To tell the eventful story of this decor, the Château de Prangins turned to the illustrator Fanny Vaucher, who has created a giant cartoon strip featuring a wine merchant, contraband, a memorable rescue and a half-century languishing forgotten in a garret. The exhibition also deciphers the subtle iconography of the Metamorphoses, highlighting the tragic fates of Daphne, Iphigenia, Orpheus and Eurydice. Finally, it documents the ambitious restoration campaign carried out by the Swiss National Museum that has enabled the parlour to be shown in public for the first time.

The cultural mediation programme includes readings of Ovid’s epic poem, cartoon-making workshops and guided tours accompanied by the wallpaper restorers or Fanny Vaucher. Detailed information is available on the website www.chateaudeprangins.ch. A publication in the Trésors des musées series from Livreo-Alphil accompanies the exhibition.

Exhibition curator: Helen Bieri Thomson, assisted by Barbara Bühlmann