This prestigious show brings together the leading French and foreign dealers, big-spending collectors and sharp-eyed amateurs. It offers a unique panorama of several centuries of art. Amateurs of furniture, tapestries, ceramics, and old paintings are sure to find something to their taste among all the items on display, from the primitive arts to modern painting, via the eighteenth century, Art déco and the 1950s.
Since 1956, the Biennale des antiquaires has been organised by the French national antique dealers' association (Syndicat national des antiquaires). Initially a yearly event, it became biennial and, in this format, elected its home for the first edition at the Grand Palais in 1962. The last edition before the closure of the Grand Palais made a big impact thanks to the neo-baroque décor designed by Pier Luigi Pizzi who imagined a fake colonnade and architecture of Italian inspiration.
The biennial has been a regular fixture in the Nave since the latter reopened. The 23rd edition in 2006, marking the return of the biennial, was keenly expected and a massive success with more than 9,000 visitors. The result lived up to expectations with the stunning scenography by decorator François-Joseph Graf . Trompe-l'oeil booths with neo-Classical facades 23 feet in height, created the spectacular impression of a theatre decor.
In 2008, the 24th Biennale des antiquaires reeled back the years to the first editions staged in the Nave of the Grand Palais in the 1960s. A fairytale decor and sumptuous scenography were designed to magnify the treasures of artistic heritage presented by 95 exhibitors. The centrepiece was the gigantic garden planted out in the Nave, completely transforming the appearance of the Grand Palais with the emerald green foliage of banana plants, sweet-scented lemon trees and bright flowering oleander.
The trees had to be transported by 20 articulated lorries, and over 300 people were involved in assembling the exhibition. Their efforts were rewarded by unanimous media acclaim. The setting of greenery conceived by Patrick Bazanan provided a perfect showcase for the 8,000 treasures presented by the 95 exhibitors, and was an immense popular success as the exhibit drew nearly 70,000 visitors.
The new season in the Nave of the Grand Palais started in September with a major art market event: the Biennale des antiquaires, celebrating its 25th anniversary. The scenography designed by Patrick Bazanan was especially applauded: wide aisles, an elegant décor, lavish displays of roses, pools, fountains, and bamboo provided the setting for the treasures on show.
Customers from the world over attended the show and business was brisk. Daily attendance was in fact up by 22% on the last edition, back in 2008. No mean success!
The aim was to create an event where the beauty of the objects on show would compete with that of the women who come to visit the exhibition, a venue where elegance, prestige and celebration would await a host of art lovers and collectors.
In 2012, Karl Lagerfeld agreed to take up the challenge: to stage, decorate and create the visuals, designing an ephemeral world within the Grand Palais to serve as a backdrop for the thousands of objets d’art.
