Moderne Maharajah, un mécène des années 30 at Paris Musée des Arts Décoratifs - photos

The palace of the Maharajah of Indore is at the heart of an exhibition, L’Inde au défi de la mordernité, from September 26, 2019 to January 12, 2020 at Paris Musée des Arts Décoratifs. We discover the works and furniture of a young prince fascinated by English and French art and architecture, a frienc and sponsor of many artists such as Man Ray, Brancusi, Le Corbusier and Perriand who ordered a modern palace to Eckart Muthesius.

From September 26, 2019 to January 12, 2020 Paris Musée des Arts Décoratifs devotes an exhibition to the last Maharajah of Indore, Yeshwant Rao Holkar Bahadur (1908-1961) called Moderne Maharajah, un mécène des années 30 [Modern Maharajah, a patron from the 30's].

As we don't really know him in France, this prince has been a leading figure in the Indian politics in the 20th century, as well as a great European and Indian arts enthusiast. Yeshwant Rao Holkar Bahadur (1908-1961) ruled on the State of Indore from 1926, after his father abdicated, maharajah of the Holkar dynasty ruling since 1733 on a part of the former Maratha Empire in the middle of India, 500 kilometers from Bombay.

Having studied in England, he quickly pays interest in modern art. From his first rreigning years, the young Maharajah of Indore orders a modern palace to German architect Eckart Muthesius and has it fit by the designers of the French Union of Modern Artists and artists from the Bauhaus school.

To build his palace, the Maharajah of Indore will travel to Europe with botanist Marcel Hardy and meet Henri-Pierre Roché who will become the Maharajah's art adviser. The Manik Bagh palace is then erected in Indore, now in the Madhya Pradesh state (in less than 3 years). We can find blueprints, models and letters that led to the creation of the palace.

The exhibitoin presents many period pictures (in black and white, because of being in the 30's). We discover the inside of the palace with works of art, furniture and pieces that belonged to the Maharajah of Indore. Thanks to archives, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs recreated rooms in the nave, with 300 pieces including Louis Sognot’s, Charlotte Alix’s, Jean Puiforcat’s, Le Corbusier’s Hans and Wassili Luckhardt’s and even René Herbest’s iconic creations. We don’t know if the masterpiece of the palace, Brancusi’s birds will be displayed.

To really picture the daily life in this place, many archive documents (including photographs, paintings, letters and drawings) will also be displayed.

Please note that it's been over 4 years since our last visit, so the place and experience may have changed.