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Voltaire, Jacques Necker, Joseph Bonaparte, Katharine McCormick and Bernie Cornfeld are just some of the well-known figures who have lived or stayed at Château de Prangins. In the large hallway on the first floor, these former inhabitants reappear like ghosts to surprise visitors and recount anecdotes.
Historically, the gallery of a stately home served to link separate wings together and act as a place of transition between different spaces. Often sizeable, it became somewhere to stretch one’s legs or walk around when the weather was bad. Since it was an area that everybody had to pass through, it was frequently used to hang family portraits for all to gaze at. These former functions are respected but addressed in a contemporary way. Bringing together various individuals from the past, the presentation also sets out to recreate the château’s sense of place or its soul, which is shaped by all those who lived, wrote, dreamed, wept, studied or collected there.
In an interactive and engaging presentation, visitors will learn about lives and stories, including the means of contraception that passed through Europe on their way to the United States at the instigation of the biologist, philanthropist and feminist Katharine McCormick; the collapse of mutual fund company IOS and the sensational trial of financier Bernie Cornfeld; and the role played by Jacques Necker, Louis XVI’s finance minister, on 5 May 1789, the day the Estates General opened.
Come and spend some time with us, we propose a large selection of activities for different target groups. A motivated and experienced team is awaiting you.
Guided tours can also be arranged outside of the official opening hours upon request.
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Registration |
2 weeks in advance |
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Duration |
60 minutes; special arrangements available upon request |
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Group size |
max. 25 people per tour |
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Languages |
German, French, Italian and English. Others upon request. |
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Cost |
CHF 120 for the guided tour + CHF 10/person admission Children up to 16 years free. |
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Portrait gallery
What do Voltaire, Jacques Necker, Joseph Bonaparte and Katharine McCormick have in common? All of them lived or spent time at Château de Prangins. Portrait gallery, the new permanent exhibition at Château de Prangins – Swiss National Museum, brings these voices from the past to life in the large corridor on the first floor, in an interactive and immersive exhibition which opens on 16 June 2023. The vernissage is free of charge and will take place on Thursday 15 June, as of 18.30.
“Good day. Do you recognise me? For the avoidance of doubt, allow me to present myself: François-Marie Arouet! Better known as Voltaire, writer and philosopher. Come over to the window, if you please, and take a seat in this comfortable armchair! I’ll tell you what I am doing at Château de Prangins!” Voices suddenly emerge from an armchair, a telephone or a door in the long gallery. They all belong to someone who lived for varying periods at Château de Prangins. Simply take a seat, open a drawer or a panel to listen to life stories and anecdotes that take you back in time.
Portrait gallery is an interactive, immersive exhibition featuring snippets of 18th-century history re-enacted in the present day, triggered by our curiosity and chance encounters – just like the random meetings between those who used to stretch their legs in this large space. “Historically, in a stately home, the gallery linked various wings together, explains Helen Bieri Thomson, Director of the museum and curator of this exhibition. It was an area that people passed through, but it was also somewhere to exercise when the weather was bad and they couldn’t go outside. And since it was a room that everyone had to visit, it was used to hang important pictures, often family portraits.”
Portrait gallery stays true to these historical precedents. There are pictures on the walls and, facing them, some black, almost unreal and fantastical furniture. Here we meet the grumpy figure of Voltaire, complaining about the cold. We discover Katharine McCormick, the philanthropic biologist who battled for women’s rights – notably control over their own bodies – by actively funding research into the contraceptive pill. Joseph Bonaparte whispers at us from behind a door as he prepares to flee the château. Jacques Necker, Louis XVI’s finance minister, is also present. A bust of him and one of his outfits complement the display. A little further on, William Beckford, the richest young man in England at the end of the 18th century, recounts his exploits. Bernie Cornfeld, the last owner of the property for just a few months before his sensational bankruptcy, also has his say. And is that a child’s voice we hear by the theatre? Yes: it’s young Charles-Jules Guiguer, the last Baron Guiguer of Prangins. We discover the Moravian Institute, when the château was a boys’ boarding school, and bring things up to date with an explanation of how it became part of the Swiss National Museum.
Images
Tatiana Oberson
Head of Marketing, Communication & Fundraising
- General Management Swiss National Museum: Denise Tonella
- Management Swiss National Museum – Château de Prangins: Helen Bieri Thomson
- Project management and curatorship: Helen Bieri Thomson
- Co-curators: Barbara Bühlmann, Matthieu Péry, Ludivine Proserpi
- Scientific advisors: Leila Bouanani, Lionel Gauthier, Marc-Henri Jordan, Dave Lüthi, Ursula Zeller
- Exhibition design: atelier oï: Patrick Reymond, Ilinka Najdenovska-Bogoeva
- Exhibition graphic design: atelier oï: Anna Badina
- Interactive Media Design: Mathieu Rivier, Joëlle Aeschlimann, Pauline Saglio, Sébastien Matos, Gianni Camporota
- Exhibition furniture: Stand Concept: Philippe Zürcher, L'Atelier: Joël Barret, Seigneur Décoration: Gilles Petermann, Stahl und Schweiss: Christian Alder, Geiser Rahmen AG, Metall Werk AGJ. Bodenmann SA, Ballenegger SA, Rachet SA L’Atelier
- Decorator: De Cagna, Nigro & Fils Peinture, Stand Concept
- Printing: Meylan publicité et signalétique
- Traductions: Claudia Grosdidier, Alessia Schiavon, Geoffrey Spearing
- Technical management: Philippe Humm (dir.), André Schärer
- Communication and marketing: Tatiana Oberson (dir.), Sylvie Nickbarte
- Graphic design (communication): L’Atelier de mon Père
- Cultural education and events: Marie-Dominique de Preter (dir.), Ana Vulić, Céline Allard, Ines Berthold, Sylvie Gobbo, Susanna Hurschler, Debra Kinson, Hester Macdonald, Sylvie Nickbarte, Nathalie Pellissier, Matthieu Péry, Ludivine Proserpi, Heidi Rasmussen, Stéphane Repas Mendes, Geneviève Suillot, Anne-Capucine Vernain, Laura Weber, Madeleine Wüthrich, Valérie Zanani, Farès Zemzemi
- Administration and finances: Odile Rigolet (dir.), Jacqueline Naepflin Karlen
- Reception: Véronique Laurent Kandem, Elisa Ottiger, Anita Rachetta Bays
- IT/Web: René Vogel (dir.), Ulrich Heiniger, Danilo Rüttimann
- Media stations: René Vogel (dir.), Alex Baur, Thomas, Bucher, Ella Fournel (stagiaire), Ulrich Heiniger, Pasquale Pollastro
- Photography: Jörg Brandt, Zvonimir Pisonić, Felix Jungo
- Objectmanagement: Laurine Poncet, David von Arx
- Picture library: Fabian Müller, Andrea Kunz
- Loan services: Laura Mosimann, Samira Tanner, Claudio Stefanutto
- Conservation management: Gaby Petrak, Véronique Mathieu
- Conservation and object mounting: Véronique Mathieu, Gaby Petrak, Natalie Ellwanger, Franziska Snape, Ulrike Rothenhäusler, Sarah Longree, Tino Zagermann, Iona Leroy, Nikkibarla Calonder, Milan Tomic, Marie Nusser (stagiaire), Lukas Schaad (stagiaire), Atelier Thomas Imfeld Véronique Mathieu et Ulrike Rothenhäusler (dir.), Anna Jurt, Iona Leroy, Sarah Longrée, Charlotte Maier, Jürg Mathys, Gaby Petrak, Tino Zagermann
- Logistics and object mounting: David Blazquez (dir.), Christian Affentranger, Simon D’Hollosy, Markus Scherer, Reto Hegetschweiler
Thanks
For the help provided to our research, for the financial support given and for the fruitful partnerships, we are very grateful to the following institutions and individuals:
- Partners: Théâtre de Carouge: Jean Liermier (dir.), COFOP (Centre d'orientation et de formation professionnelle): Pascal Pittet
- Sponsorship: Hirzel Stiftung, Loterie Romande, Fondation Ernst Göhner, Association des Amis du Château de Prangins, Fondation Goblet
- Institutions: Archives de la construction moderne: Salvatore Aprea, Joëlle Neuenschwander Feihl, Barbara Galimberti, Archives de la Ville d'Yverdon-les-Bains: Catherine Guanzini, Archives cantonales vaudoises: Delphine Friedmann et Raphaël Berthoud, Bibliothèque communale et scolaire de Gland: Aurélie Masson, Château de Versailles: Corinne Thépaut-Cabasset, Hida Sangyo Co., Pharmacie du Marché, Aubonne: Linda Cretegny et Solange Barbey, RTS: Delphine Zimmermann, UNIRIS (UNIL): Gérard Bagnoud et Sacha Auderset, Zentralbibliothek: Dr. Jochen Hesse et Barbara Dieterich, Pro Infirmis Fribourg
- Individuals: Léonard Burnand, Philip Grand d'Hauteville, Béatrice Lovis, Olga Rapin-Held, Olivier Rapin, David Stieber, Stuart Symons, Anne Tainton