GALERIE ART PREMIER AFRICAIN GALERIE ART PRIMITIF AFRICAIN AFRICAN ART GALLERY

Pietro Paolo Savorgnan di Brazzà ou Pierre Paul François Camille Savorgnan de Brazza en français, né à Castel Gandolfo le 26 janvier 1852 et mort à Dakar le 14 septembre 1905, est un explorateur italien naturalisé français. Il explora la rive droite du fleuve Congo ouvrant la voie à la colonisation française en Afrique équatoriale. Sa bonhommie, son charme, son approche pacifique des Africains faisaient de Brazza une figure d’exception parmi ses contemporains qui exploraient l’Afrique au nom des grandes puissances occidentales.

Un explorateur pacifique et altruiste

Élevé à Rome, sous le nom de « Pietro Paolo Savorgnan di Brazzà », le futur explorateur est le septième fils des douze enfants du comte Ascanio Savorgnan di Brazzà, un noble d’Udine. Cet homme cultivé et voyageur avait de nombreux amis français, dont le prestigieux amiral Louis de Montaignac. Avec son soutien et celui de son précepteur, Pietro vient à Paris et suit les cours du collège Sainte-Geneviève pour préparer le concours d’entrée à l’École navale de Brest. Il y rentre à 17 ans, en ressort enseigne de vaisseau et embarque sur la Jeanne d’Arc pour l’Algérie. Là-bas, il est horrifié par la violence de la répression de la révolte kabyle par les troupes françaises. La guerre de 1870 est alors déclarée : il veut être affecté dans une unité combattante. Il en profite pour demander la naturalisation française et se retrouve sur le

Africa since 1935

Research Director
Professor A. A. Mazrui (Kenya)

Co-Director
C. Wondji (Ivory Coast)

Arts and society since 1935
J. VANSINA

Across Africa today the arts give the show an amazing cauldron of creativity emerged with a dizzying diversity of all layers of society. Many new artistic trends date from the second half of the colonial period. Besides, some pioneers are still working today. After all, it is past two generations since 1935. But in that short time, the artistic activity was a richness and diversity as this chapter may at most trace the main lines of its evolution (1).

Initially, we must enumerate a few general features of social and cultural matrix that is all. These are: the growing impact but unevenly distributed in Europe, the growth of cities, social stratification more trenches that lead to the formation of new classes, the industrial division of time has reached the beaches of leisure may be devoted to the practice and enjoyment of the arts, the prestige associated with the technical and technical training, changing the place and role of the artist in society, past status of artisan to that of cultural soothsayer The change in attitude toward art and their use, alteration of values in general and more specifically the changing religious values. The multiplication of objects of artistic production offers new opportunities, these are just

The Quai Branly museum is set on quai Branly in the 7th district of Paris, where was located the Foreign Exchange Market Department. Ambitious project led by Jacques Chirac (passionated by « primitive art ») and realised by Jean Nouvel, it has been unveiled the 20th of June 2006.

History

Jacques Kerchache, art seller and african art expert, tried from the begining of the 1990’s to bring the « primitive arts » into the Louvre museum. In 1990 he signed in the newpaper Libération an article on this topic ; the same year he met Jacques Chirac, then mayor of Paris.

The latter is elected president of the Republic in 1995. As soon as he arrived at the head of the State, he askes for the opening of a primitive art department at the Louvre museum. One year later he announced the project of creation of a new museum, which quickly meet an opposition, especially  with a strike of the personnal of the Man museum in 1999, to stand in the way of the disassembly of the museum’s collections and criticize the primacy of the aesthetic choice instead of the scientific factors.

An architecture competition is sent out in 1999, designating Jean Nouvel as the architect.

This museum is unveiled the 20th of June 2006 by Jacques Chirac, in the presence of Kofi Annan, Rigoberta Menchú, Paul Okalik, Dominique de Villepin, Lionel Jospin and Jean-Pierre Raffarin. The Quai Branly museum has the status of public administratove institution. It’s placed under the guardianship of the Department of Culture and

The Quai Branly museum is set on quai Branly in the 7th district of Paris, where was located the Foreign Exchange Market Department. Ambitious project led by Jacques Chirac (passionated by « primitive art ») and realised by Jean Nouvel, it has been unveiled the 20th of June 2006.

History

Jacques Kerchache, art seller and african art expert, tried from the begining of the 1990’s to bring the « primitive arts » into the Louvre museum. In 1990 he signed in the newpaper Libération an article on this topic ; the same year he met Jacques Chirac, then mayor of Paris.

The latter is elected president of the Republic in 1995. As soon as he arrived at the head of the State, he askes for the opening of a primitive art department at the Louvre museum. One year later he announced the project of creation of a new museum, which quickly meet an opposition, especially  with a strike of the personnal of the Man museum in 1999, to stand in the way of the disassembly of the museum’s collections and criticize the primacy of the aesthetic choice instead of the scientific factors.

An architecture competition is sent out in 1999, designating Jean Nouvel as the architect.

This museum is unveiled the 20th of June 2006 by Jacques Chirac, in the presence of Kofi Annan, Rigoberta Menchú, Paul Okalik, Dominique de Villepin, Lionel Jospin and Jean-Pierre Raffarin. The Quai Branly museum has the status of public administratove institution. It’s placed under the guardianship of the Department of Culture and

Pietro Paolo Savorgnan di Brazzà, best known as Pierre Paul François Camille Savorgnan de Brazza (January 26,1852 - September 14, 1905), was a Franco-Italian explorer, born in Italy and later naturalizedFrenchman. With the backing of the Société de Géographique de Paris, he opened up for France entry along the right bank of the Congo that eventually led to French colonies in Central Africa. His easy manner and great physical charm, as well as his pacific approach among Africans, were his trademarks. Under French colonial rule, Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo was named in his honor.

Early  years

Born in Rome on January 26,1852, Pietro Savorgnan di Brazzà was the seventh son of Count Ascanio Savorgnan di Brazzà, a nobleman of Udine with many French connections and Giacinta Simonetti. Pietro was interested in exploration from an early age and won entry to the French naval school at Brest, graduated as an ensign, and went on the French ship Jeanne d'Arc to Algeria.

Exploration to Africa

His next ship was the Venus, which stopped at Gabonregularly, and in 1874, de Brazza made two trips, up the Gabon Riverand Ogoue River. He then proposed to the government that he explore the Ogoueto its source, and with the help of friends in high places, including Jules Ferryand Leon Gambetta, he secured partial funding, the rest

After having passed several months in Abyssinia (1928 - 1929), he organised the crossing of Africa from west to east: it's the  Dakar-Djibouti mission from  1931 to 1933 with Michel Leiris, André Schaeffner and other ethnologists, marking in the same time the start of the field ethnology. During this expedition, he studied the Dogon group, on which he consacred the majority of his researches.

Very linked to the dogon culture, he contributed to the development of the region by promoting the construction of an irrigation boom for the culture of onion and pepper in the region of Sangha. 

One of his main contribution (related to ethnology) is having proved that the dogon cosmogony is at least as important as the western ones. However, he'll be very criticized for having under-estimate the western influence in the dogon astronomical knowledge. He has been one of the rare ethnologists to get traditional african funerals.

In 1941, he stood in for his former amharique professor Marcel Cohen, unauthorised to teach because of the anti-Semitic laws, at the INLCOV (School of the Eastern Languages).
From 1943 to his death, he's professor at la Sorbonne (first chair of ethnology). He's also advisor of the French Union. From 1940, he was the general secretary of the Africanists Society.

He has

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Achi - Adangmé - Adio - Afar - Afo - Aka - Akan - Akyem - Akwaim - Alagya - Aman - Amhara - Amba - Ambo - Angoni - Anga - Ankwé - Ano - Anyi