TRIBAL people

Masterpieces
from Africa
Tracing the History
of the Musée
Dapper in Honor of
Michel Leveau
Interview by Elena Martínez-Jacquet

It has been nearly three years since

Michel Leveau passed away on Gorée Island while working
on the final preparations for the first exhibition produced
by the Musée Dapper—which he had founded in Paris in
1986—to be presented in Africa. After a period of mourning,
the time seemed appropriate for Christiane Falgayrettes-
Leveau, his wife and director of the museum since its in-
ception, to produce an homage to her husband, a scholar
and leader whose dedication to promoting the traditional
arts of Africa was extraordinary and exceptional. This hom-
age is an exhibition of the kind with which the Dapper has
long excelled—a long-term temporary installation, in this
case on view until July 17, 2016, accompanied by a pub-
lication penned by art historians and researchers with the
strongest credentials. Titled Chefs-d’œuvre d’Afrique dans
les collections du musée Dapper (Masterpieces of African
Art in the Musée Dapper’s Collection), the exhibition brings
together for the first time 125 outstanding artworks drawn
entirely from the museum’s own holdings. The show dif-
fers in this respect from others the museum has produced,
which have generally featured material from a variety of
collections, both institutional and private.
Shortly after the opening of this exhibition, we had the
opportunity to talk with Christiane Falgayrettes-Leveau
about Michel Leveau’s engagement with African art. We
also discussed the history and nature of the museum’s col-
lection and its future.

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 Tribal Art Magazine: Michel Leveau devoted a major FIG. 1 (far left): Michel
part of his life to promoting appreciation for African art. Leveau in front of a street
sign pointing to the Musée
What motivated his commitment? Dapper.
Christiane Falgayrettes-Leveau: Michel Leveau © Musée Dapper archives.

discovered African art quite early on through his

FIG. 2 (left): Statue depicting
professional life. He was a mining engineer and worked King Glèlè. Kingdom of
in a number of countries, including Mali, Senegal, and Danhomè, Republic
Gabon. He quickly became aware of the importance of of Benin.
Brass.
the local cultures’ artistic patrimonies and of the need H: 105 cm.
to preserve the aesthetic qualities of these. That was the Created before 1889, presumably
by Huntondji Ganhu and part of the
impetus for his beginning to collect traditional art. He “treasure of King Béhanzin.”
Ex Achille Lemoine; Charles Ratton,
began to acquire important works and did so consistently,
after 1926.
although he never thought of himself as a collector. His Musée Dapper, Paris, inv. 2541.

motivation was entirely different—his purchases were not FIG. 3 (right): Reliquary fig-
meant to satisfy a personal need but rather were rooted ure, eyema byeri, known as
in a desire to share and to present a patrimony with the the”Pahouin Venus.” Fang,
Gabon or Equatorial Guinea.
public at large. He first did this by supporting researchers
Wood, pigment.
and the publication of monographs. The creation of a H: 56 cm.
Ex Georges de Miré; Louis Carré, by
space where the collection could be shown to a large
1931; Jacob Epstein;
audience was a project that came years later. Carlo Monzino.
Musée Dapper, Paris, inv. 2891.

T. A. M.: How did the idea of a museum come about?

C. F.-L.: As I just mentioned, Michel Leveau’s intent was
to encourage the development of a new way of seeing
art that had too often been perceived (both in the West
and in Africa, by the way) as being part of daily life and
thus of an ethnographic nature. For him, sponsoring
research—and remember that he was a scholar as well
as an art patron—contributed to assuring that traditional
works would become part of the universal pantheon of
the arts. Needless to say, his approach was innovative at
the time, which was more than thirty years ago. By then
there had been a few exhibitions that had emphasized the
aesthetic qualities of the art, most notably Chefs-d’œuvre
du musée de l’Homme (Masterpieces in the Musée de
l’Homme), which had been organized by the Société des
Amis du Musée de l’Homme in 1965, but an ethnographic
approach to these artworks was still prevalent.
Within this context, Michel Leveau began to think in
terms of creating a museum, although he initially wanted
to open it in Africa. The question of where to put it quickly
arose. Should it be in Senegal or in Gabon, just to mention
the countries he knew well? However, he soon became
aware of other problems, such as the absence of suitable
museum venues (save for in Nigeria and South Africa)
and of the difficulties that Samuel Sidibé, director of the
National Museum of Mali in Bamako, had encountered
due to political events. He ultimately came to realize that
Africa had more urgent needs and priorities than aesthetic

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 TRIBAL people

FIG. 4 (right): Helmet mask,

bwoom. Kuba, DR Congo.
Wood, metal, glass beads, pigment.
H: 32 cm.
Musée Dapper, Paris, inv. 1290.

FIG. 5 (below): Statuette,

nkisi. Kongo, DR Congo.
Wood, feathers, vegetal fiber,
composite material, shell, mirror, hide,
pigment.
H: 38 cm.
Collected by Robert Visser in 1903.
Musée Dapper, Paris, inv. 0004.

FIG. 6 (right): Pectoral disk,

akrafokonmu.
Akan-Asante, Côte d’Ivoire.
18th century.
Gold (lost wax cast).
D: 17 cm.
Musée Dapper, Paris, inv. 0228.

FIG. 7 (facing page): Lefem

figure depicting a princess.
Bangwa, Cameroon.
Wood, pigment.
H: 85 cm.
Collected in 1897–1898 by Gustav
Conrau and brought to Europe in
1899. Ex Museum für Völkerkunde,
Berlin, before 1926; Arthur Speyer;
Charles Ratton; Helena Rubinstein;
Harry A. Franklin.
Musée Dapper, Paris, inv. 3343.

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 Michel Leveau and the Musée Dapper

culture and that issues such as education and public

health should be addressed first.
Paris then became his choice. The project was
beginning to develop when we met, and he was looking
for someone to help him turn it into a reality. The Dapper
Foundation was created in 1983, and three years later the
museum opened. The name comes from the seventeenth-
century Dutch humanist, who wrote an important work,
Description of Africa, which was published in 1689,
without ever having been there.

T. A. M.: References to Olfert Dapper are often made by

the museum, especially in its publications. Did he influence
Michel Leveau’s method of collecting?
C. F.-L.: Perhaps not consciously. Like Dapper,
Michel Leveau was never in Africa for the purpose of
accomplishing his “work.” He never acquired anything
in situ but bought exclusively in the West, at auction
houses (especially Sotheby’s), from Parisian galleries,
and from private collectors. He was a connoisseur with a
trained and sure eye and an appreciation for provenance,
as demonstrated by the fact that many of the pieces in
the collection were formerly the property of figures like
Charles Ratton, Helena Rubinstein, Jacob Epstein, and
Georges de Miré. Although he was by no means a socialite,
he was part of a small group of active collectors in Paris,
which included individuals like André Fourquet and
Hubert Goldet.

T. A. M.: Might another similarity with Olfert Dapper

be seen in the encyclopedic quality of the museum’s
collection?
C. F.-L.: Most definitely! Beauty was an important
criterion for Michel Leveau, but not all of his acquisitions
spoke to a purely aesthetic imperative. If that had been
the case, the museum’s collection, with its nearly four
thousand objects, could never have attained the breadth
that it has today. Some pieces caught his attention
because they made sense to him as being characteristic
of regional styles or peoples. The roughly fifty exhibitions
the museum has organized over the years also were
an important influence on the nature of acquisitions,
inasmuch as exploring their subject matter thoroughly
sometimes dictated the purchase of certain kinds of
objects. He understood the importance of a didactic
approach that would satisfy visitors’ desire for knowledge
and understanding.

T. A. M.: The Chefs-d’œuvre exhibition that the museum

is now presenting largely focuses on the statuary of

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 TRIBAL people
FIG. 8 (left): Spouse figure,
blolo bian. Baule, Côte
d’Ivoire.
Wood, pigment.
H: 45 cm.
Musée Dapper, Paris, inv. 0172.
FACING PAGE
FIG. 9 (left): Altar figure.
Soninke, Mali. C-14 dated
to the 10th century (ETH-
12142 AD 960 and AD
865–1046).
Wood, pigment.
H: 103 cm.
Ex Lester Wunderman.
Musée Dapper, Paris, inv. 0068.
FIG. 10 (bottom right):
Equestrian figure. Dogon,
Mali. C-14 dated to the 17th
or 18th century (ETH-10530
AD 1610 and AD 1770).
Wood, pigment.
H: 81 cm.
Ex Lester Wunderman.
Musée Dapper, Paris, inv. 0123.
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Central Africa (mainly Cameroon and Gabon) and West
Africa (Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Benin). Does that
selection reflect Michel Leveau’s personal taste?
C. F.-L.: The formation of a collection destined for
public presentation follows a particular logic that does
not always mirror personal preferences. The concern for
thoroughness and comprehensiveness we just discussed
trumps that. Michel Leveau was careful to take advantage
of opportunities to acquire important works as they arose.
Having said that, his personal sensibilities shine in each of
his acquisitions. Divided into two large sections, with Central
Africa on the ground level and West Africa on the second
floor, Chefs-d’œuvre certainly reveals a relatively classical
sensibility.
Michel Leveau was particularly struck by the iconic
character achieved early on by certain works, such as the
Bangwa Queen and the Pahouin Venus. At the same time,
he had an evolved interest in then less-well-known works,
such as the formal and more stylized Kota and Mahongwe
reliquaries or Dogon statuary. One of the pieces he loved the
most was a little Soninke figure with a raised arm, which he
had C-14 tested to determine its age.
T. A. M.: When these masterpieces are not being exhibited at
the museum, are they displayed in your home?
C. F.-L.: No, not at all. I don’t mean to say we don’t have
objects at home, but the Bangwa Queen has never presided
over our living room!
T. A. M.: Some collectors might see that as unfortunate.
C. F.-L.: And that is additional proof that Michel Leveau
was never really a true collector. He thought such pieces’
rightful place was in the museum, where they can be
admired.
T. A. M.: To conclude, let me bring up a subject you must
have been repeatedly asked about since your late husband’s
sad death. What is the future of the museum and its
collection? As the museum’s director, exhibition curator,
and producer of publications, you have made major and
decisive contributions to this venture that are familiar to us
all. In the three years since Michel Leveau’s passing, the
museum has continued to honor and renew his commitment
to the promotion of African art through its rich and varied
programming. Is this going to continue for the foreseeable
future?
C. F.-L.: Michel Leveau’s death was obviously an upheaval
for our museum, but it remains my desire and that of my
daughters to continue the work we began more than thirty
years ago, albeit by evolving to meet new circumstances.
05/11/15 13:05
 FIG. 11 (left): Head. Akan, Ghana.
Thermoluminescence dated to the
18th century.
Terracotta.
H: 29 cm.
Ex Baudouin de Grunne.
Musée Dapper, Paris, inv. 2799.

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 PERSONNALITÉ

An institution can have several lives. We have done a

great deal of work to disseminate, validate, and promote
knowledge of traditional African art. Starting several years
ago, we also began to address contemporary African art
and diaspora cultures, and we have produced several
exhibitions in Africa that were extremely well received. We
have become more active in the living arts by sponsor-
ing concerts, lectures, conferences, film screenings, and
other presentations in our auditorium. This has greatly
enlarged our sphere of activity and has brought us a new
audience made up of people born in Europe but of African
and Caribbean origin. We feel we’ve found a new mission
that we should pursue through these activities as well as
in other cultural aspects of contemporary Africa. We must
remain dynamic and not be content to rest on our laurels.
Still, after all is said and done, the Musée Dapper’s spirit
remains the same that its creator imbued it with in 1986.
It exists to create and promote real and meaningful ex-
changes between cultures.

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 FIG. 12 (far left): Mask,
ntomo. Bamana or Marka,
Mali.
Wood, cowries, vegetal fiber, metal,
pigment.
H: 47 cm.
Musée Dapper, Paris, inv. 0912.

FIG. 13 (left): Standing

figure, kafigelejo. Senufo,
Côte d’Ivoire.
Wood, feathers, fabric, composite
substances, pigment.
H: 90 cm.
Ex Charles Ratton.
Musée Dapper, Paris, inv. 0181.

FIG. 14 (right): Reliquary

figure. Kota or Ndassa,
Congo.
Wood, copper, brass.
H: 60 cm.
Ex Paul Guillaume; Alfred Stieglitz.
Musée Dapper, Paris, inv. 060.

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