News After the Louvre Museum in 2009, the Swiss National Museum is devoting a retrospective to the art and life of Abraham-Louis Breguet. Open at the Château de Prangins until 19 September.
After a stay at the Louvre in 2009, the retrospective of the work of Abraham-Louis Breguet makes a stopover in Switzerland, more precisely at the Swiss National Museum in Prangins, where the exhibition opened on 10 June this year. The country of origin of this famous watchmaker thus pays tribute to him through a chronological journey that takes the visitor from 1747 to 1823, the golden age of watchmaking prior to industrialisation. Designed by the late Nicolas Hayek, this exhibition includes a rich collection of pieces loaned by different museums or institutions (the Louvre, Château de Fontainebleau, Fondation Napoléon in Paris, Kremlin Museum in Moscow, International Watch Museum of La Chaux-de-Fonds, Museum of Art and History of Neuchâtel, etc), belonging to the brand or to the Château de Prangins itself.
175 exceptional exhibits, on show in an area divided into six parts, include unique pieces, revolutionary inventions and timepieces once belonging to the great of this world, such as a watch commissioned by Queen Marie-Antoinette in 1783 featuring all of the complications that existed at the time, a "tactful" (tactile) watch that belonged to Joséphine Bonaparte, later given to her daughter, and original manuscripts (draft of Abraham-Louis Breguet’s Horological Treatise), purchased in 2010 at auction by Nicolas G. Hayek.
Another masterpiece featured in the exhibition is a pocket travel clock, designed in 1796, comprising a small cage in gilded bronze, glazed on four sides, equipped with an eight-day movement with sprung balance which was considered revolutionary in its day, since it could operate continuously while in transit. In 1798, General Bonaparte, who was preparing to set off for the Egyptian campaign, was one of the first to acquire this clock.
Born in Neuchâtel in 1747, Abraham-Louis Breguet was orphaned at a very young age. He moved to Paris at the age of 15 with an address book comprised largely of residents of Neuchâtel or Switzerland generally, who had relocated to the French capital to set up in business. He quickly made the acquaintance of celebrities such as Ferdinand Berthoud, the famous medalmaker Jean-Pierre Droz and the revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat. In 1775, he set up his workshop on the Quai de L'Horloge, where his business soon began to flourish. In 1793, political events forced him to return to Switzerland for reasons of safety. He then stayed for spells in Geneva, Neuchâtel and Le Locle. His son, Antoine-Louis, accompanied him during this exile. The latter worked his entire life in close collaboration with his impassioned father who initiated him at an early age into the secrets of watchmaking complications. Abraham-Louis Breguet remained on Swiss soil for two years before returning to France. They were two fruitful years during which he developed a variety of projects such as the subscription watch, the tactful watch, the sympathetic clock and indeed the tourbillon. Abraham-Louis Breguet was not only a talented watchmaker, but also a shrewd entrepreneur who succeeded in extending his network to many countries such as Spain, England, Russia and the Ottoman Empire. After spending 60 years of his life in Paris, he finally obtained French citizenship.
The exhibition "L'horlogerie à la conquête du monde" runs at the Swiss National Museum at the Château de Prangins until 19 September 2011. It is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm. Guided tours as well as workshops for children aged from 6 to 12 are organised. The Sundays 7 and 28 August will be enlivened by the presence of craftsmen who will demonstrate to the public their time-honoured expertise in the fields of engraving, chamfering, engine-turning and cameo engraving. For further information, visit: www.chateaudeprangins.ch.
On a final note, readers may be interested to know that the Zurich Landesmuseum will be hosting this exhibition from 6 October 2011 to 8 January 2012.
July 05, 2011
