Next month a Joan of Arc Installation opens in Rouen. It appears she is set up to surpass Madame Tusseauds and turn her into a digitized saint.
Joan of Arc was tried and burned at the stake in Rouen. Afterwards her ashes were spread in the river to avoid pilgrimages and secret veneration. As is well known this did not hinder her afterlife as the French Saint par excellence. However, today she is also the tourist-beacon for the city of Rouen. No wonder the city together with the Archdiocese some years ago decided to build a new museum, commemorating her life, death and afterlife. But as should be expected the new museum seems to be filled with a typical French mixture of Son-et-Lumière, garish video-shows and 3D-mapping; in short, turning the new museum into a digital triumph and in itself a piece of installation art.
According to the press-release more than 25 people have worked to develop audio-guides in 25 languages. These will accompany visitors on the 1 h 15 m long tour around the palace. The story is narrated in the “voice of Jeanne” (Jean Juvenal) and guides the person on virtual pilgrimage from Domremy through Chinon, Orléans and Poitiers for finally turn up in Rouen. The tour ends with a presentation of the many myths, which were created afterwards by shifting political factions in France.
Apart from that, the museum will of course also exhibit a large collection of the typical bric-a-brac, which the saint has given the impetus to over very many years, where she has been used to market anything from brie to perfume, complete with a slight wife of smoke. (A selection may be viewed at Pinterest)
However the new exhibition is housed in parts of the former palace of the Archbishop, in itself a marvelous piece of Medieval cum Baroque architecture. Bombed in the war it stands partially naked against the sky. This was the site, where she was tried, condemned and in front of which, she was burned. For the first time, the 18th century chapel and the beautiful gigantic state hall has been opened to the public in general. This is, ofcourse, a boon in itself.
VISIT:
Historial Jeanne d’Arc
7, rue Saint-Romain
76000 Rouen
The museum – or perhaps rather the installation – opens on the 21.03.2015
READ MORE:
Joan of Arc – A History
By Helen Castor
Faber & Faber 2014
ISBN-10: 0571284620
ISBN-13: 978-0571284627