Catherine Millet critiques political correctness in Musée d'Orsay's 'Le Modèle noir'

In a critical review for artpress, Catherine Millet takes issue with the ideological framing of the exhibition 'Le Modèle noir. De Géricault à Matisse' at the Musée d'Orsay (March 26–July 21, 2019). She acknowledges the expanded version compared to the Wallach Art Gallery show, enriched by the museum's collection including Manet's Olympia, and loans from provincial and foreign museums. Millet praises specific works: Cézanne's 'Noir Scipion' from São Paulo, Degas's 'Miss Lala au Cirque Fernando' from London, Manet's portrait of Jeanne Duval from Budapest, and Géricault's study of model Joseph. However, she criticizes the catalogue for politically correct excess, particularly the essay by Lilian Thuram and Pascal Blanchard titled 'Corps noir, regard blanc', which she finds absurd and divisive. Millet argues that the exhibition's documentary sections emphasize social integration (domesticity, entertainment, art academies) but that some texts undermine the curators' stated focus on the 'model' rather than social groups. She concludes that the Musée d'Orsay, a museum of 19th-century art where painting gained aesthetic autonomy, now places ideology in command.