The increasingly blurred and porous boundaries between private and public have sparked much debates. Scenography created with the participation of UniFor, Artemide and Saviola. The chosen theme is that of our relationship to the personal or private sphere and its transformations over the centuries. The bedroom, beds, armchairs and sofas, screens, dressing tables, bourdaloues coach pots , commode chairs, bathtubs, sex toys, connected objects, and applications punctuate this exhibition exploring various themes linked to intimacy: sleep, eroticism, sexuality, beauty, grooming, the different ways of being together, promiscuity, and the desire for solitude.
Through twelve themes, the exhibition, presented in the nave of the museum and the side galleries, opens through a gigantic keyhole. In the 19 th century, with the emergence of a middle class, professional and family life grew separate, with women in charge of the household and the private sphere.
Painters β most men, such as Edouard Vuillard, who opens the exhibition β often depicted them in their homes. A large library of books on the bedroom is presented, from Marcel Proust to Michelle Perrot. For a long time, water was associated with miasmas, before the advent of modern hygiene research.
The room brings together old pitchers and dressing tables, the 19 th -century bathtub, depicted by Edgar Degas and Alfred Stevens, and the ceramic bathtub, with the appearance of the bathroom, that became commonplace in the s. The construction of appearance takes place mostly away from the scrutiny of the outside world. Some of the items associated with it have changed or even disappeared according to fashions, revealing sociological turning points.
Recent times have paved the way for greater diversity, inclusiveness and gender fluidity. Consequently, both say a great deal about the kind of relationship we wish to establish with others, from smelling good to sensual invitation. The exhibition continues in the nave with spectacular scenography focusing on twenty-five masterpieces of 20 th -century design, around the theme of the nest and shared intimacy.
