Modern Across the Ages | Mobilier National at Villa Albertine
Talk
Réserve Perret ©Thibaut Chapotot
Join us for this exceptional conversation with Hervé Lemoine, President of the Mobilier National, and Wolf Burchard, Associate Curator for Decorative Arts at the Metropolitan Museum, to discover one of the foremost French Cultural institutions: the Mobilier National, in charge of furnishing the official spaces of the French Republic, which has been a key actor in the field of design creation and the promotion of French decorative arts for 400 years.
A direct descendent of French King Louis XIV’s “Garde-meuble de la Couronne,” the Mobilier National is one of the foremost French cultural institutions, in charge of furnishing the official spaces of the French Republic. With a team of more than 340 professionals, including curators, interior designers, and craftspeople, the Mobilier National ensures the conservation and restoration of its unique collections, which numbers nearly 150,000 pieces.
The institution also administers textile production through historic workshops such as the Gobelins, Beauvais, and Savonnerie manufactories (among others), creating tapestries, rugs, and lace in collaboration with some of the greatest artists over the past four centuries: Picasso, Matisse, Le Corbusier, Hans Hartung, and, more recently, Pierre Alechinsky, Kiki Smith, and Sheila Hicks. The Mobilier National also runs a Research and Creation Workshop (Atelier de Recherche et de Création) which produces outstanding pieces of furniture for the French State with internationally renowned designers such as Pierre Paulin, Andrée Putman, and Philippe Stark, as well as young designers including Matali Crasset, Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance, and Philippe Nigro.
The preservation and transmission of this highly specialized know-how has made the Mobilier National a key actor in the field of contemporary creation and the promotion of French decorative arts.
Hosted by Villa Albertine, this exceptional talk with Hervé Lemoine, president of the Mobilier National, is an opportunity to better understand the landscape of support for contemporary design, and to explore this 400-year-old “temple of design”: its history, its singularity as an institution, and its collection, which is a testament to the richness and the variety of French luxury styles.
In partnership with
Manufactures nationales – Sèvres & Mobilier national
Resulting from the merger between the Mobilier national and the Cité de la Céramique – Sèvres & Limoges, the National Manufactures were established on January 1, 2025, to promote the excellence of French craftsmanship and highlight the richness of both tangible and intangible heritage through more than 53 artistic crafts practiced within its manufactures and workshops.
Unique worldwide, this new public entity dedicated to decorative arts, crafts, and design combines heritage and creation to play a central role in implementing the national strategy in support of artistic crafts.
Its mission is structured around six key priorities: education and training; research; creation; support for the fragile ecosystem of artistic crafts; heritage promotion; and the international outreach of craftsmanship.
As the heir to four centuries of history, it comprises two museums (the National Museum of Ceramics in Sèvres and the Adrien Dubouché National Museum in Limoges), nine manufactures and creative workshops (including the Sèvres National Manufactory, the Gobelins Tapestry Manufactory, the Beauvais Tapestry Manufactory, the Savonnerie Carpet Manufactory, the lace workshops of Alençon and Le Puy-en-Velay, and the Research and Creation Workshop for contemporary furniture), seven restoration workshops, and a furnishing commission.
Firmly rooted in local territories, this public institution operates across eight departments: in Paris, Hauts-de-Seine (Sèvres), Hérault (Lodève), Creuse (Aubusson), Orne (Alençon), Haute-Loire (Le Puy-en-Velay), Haute-Vienne (Limoges), and Oise (Beauvais).
