In May 1900, the Grand Palais opened for the Universal Exhibition. At the start of 2021, it will close its doors for major restoration work. Between these two dates an abundant life unfolded, during which the Grand Palais resonated with its time, a major player in French artistic and cultural life, a mirror of the XNUMXth century - of the technical and scientific progress that marked it, of social and historical turmoil which marked it out.

History of the Grand Palais by Nayel Zeaiter, September 16, 2021

© Grand Palais - RMN

The Rmn - Grand Palais invites the artist Nayel Zeaiter to make the palisade which will surround the Grand Palais during the works a work (1,5 m high and nearly 1 km) offered to the public who will no longer be able to enter the monument for a little over 3 years.

“Nayel's work for the palisade of the Grand Palais, like his album“ Histoire de France ”and his most recent installation“ History of Vandalism ”, is a real tour de force. The meticulous images and texts, arrowed in long narrative compositions, both familiar and strange, inspired by educational charts and didactic instructions, as in tourist manuals, deal with little-known events and scenes in the history and life of the Big palace. The artist takes on the role of the amateur historian, a fascination that reigns in all of us. The result is a colossal work that combines the long-lasting reading of Bayeux rugs with the lightness of comics and the best examples of street art ”.
Chris Dercon

“The order that was made to me consists of the creation of a work dealing with the history of the Grand Palais. To answer it, I wanted to talk about the building and everything that has brought it to life since 1900: the events, actors and projects that have animated the place, but also the artistic and political debates that have surrounded it.
A cultural showcase for France, the Grand Palais has witnessed both changes in the art world and regime changes in the country. Drawing its history allows me to deal with 120 years of French art history and cultural policy. The result will take the form of a very long timeline. It will be made up of drawings and arrowed texts, creating a continuous narrative thread unfolding all around the site of the Grand Palais. Everything will be printed on poster paper and plastered on the wooden palisades. "
Nayel Zeaiter

History of the Grand Palais by Nayel Zeaiter, September 16, 2021

Detail frieze History of the Grand Palais, Nayel Zeaiter © Nayel Zeaiter

Trained in Decorative Arts in Paris, Nayel Zeaiter tries to perpetuate and maintain the genre of history painting. His work oscillates between large-format works and editorial achievements within Éditions Comprendre which he created in 2011. He exhibits in particular at the Salon de Montrouge (2015), at the Salon Drawing Now (2015), at the Palais de Tokyo for the exhibition Appareiller (2017), at the International Design Biennale of Saint-Étienne (2017), at Vent des Forêts (2017), at the Sacred Art Museum of Saint-Mihiel (permanent collection), at the Palais de Tokyo for the exhibition Future, Ancient, Fugitive (2019).

In 2018, he published Histoires de France in 100 illustrated plates, published by La Martinière. In 2019, he published Histoire du vandalisme illustrated, with the Comprendre editions.

Pratical information

access: metro line 1 and 13 "Champs-Elysées - Clemenceau" or line 9 "Franklin D. Roosevelt"

Reading time of the work: between 45 minutes and 1h30

Distance: 900 meters

To know more : https://www.grandpalais.fr