Antiquity -20th century · Rite, dance, wedding, procession and collective show

Banquets, weddings, processions, balls and public festivals show how painting transforms a group into an event: gestures, music, costume and space make a community in action visible.

The festival is one of the great laboratories of collective painting. In Antiquity and mythology, banquets, dances and sacrifices organize the relationship between humans, gods and seasons. Christianity transforms processions, weddings and saint's days into scenes where religious ritual, social hierarchy and urban spectacle overlap. During the Renaissance and the Baroque era, princely processions, weddings and feasts allowed artists to display architecture, costume, tableware and crowds according to very constructed rhythms. In the Renaissance and the Baroque era, princely processions, weddings and feasts allowed artists to display architecture, costume, tableware and crowds according to very constructed rhythms. In the 18th century, with Watteau, the gallant festival was invented, an elegant company whose music and desire were already crossed by melancholy. In the 19th century, the party became a major subject of modern life: Renoir paints the popular ball, Degas the show and behind the scenes, while other artists observe carnivals, cafes, illuminated streets or political gatherings. Not all of these images celebrate harmony. They also reveal class differences, the roles assigned to each person, the work that makes the party possible and the fragility of a momentarily shared order. The "Festivals and celebrations" selection notably compares Lupercalia Festivals and Wedding Processions. Its reading favors space.

Painting a party means organizing the multiple: each gesture remains individual, but music, rite and movement build a common memory.