Safeguarding fine art and cultural heritages

Authored by AXA XL Singapore’s Country Manager and Executive Sponsor of AXA XL’s APAC & Europe Fine Art strategy Sylvie Gleises

As far as I could remember, art has always been a passion for me. When I was a little girl and had the chance to go to Paris from time to time to visit the Louvre, I was already overwhelmed by the beauty of the masterpieces I saw. I was probably too little to “understand” them, but I will always remember the emotion I had. And today, I am filled with the same emotion whenever I go to the Louvre and see one of the many pieces contributed by the AXA Group, together with the pride of working for a Group that is actively protecting art. I feel the same way when I arrive at TEFAF Maastricht: Walking past the flower wall and perusing the masterpieces on display, I also can’t help being reminded of the critical role the art community, including fine art insurers, has in preserving artistic and cultural heritages for future generations.

In the light 

Vincent van Gogh’s Almond Blossom has always been one of my favourite works. Probably the combination of Western and Japanese influence resonates deeply with me, who was born in France but of an Asian mother. He made it to celebrate the birth of his nephew, Vincent Willem, and the flowering almond trees are understood to represent hope and awakening. They also reflect van Gogh’s passion for Japanese woodcuts, another favourite art form of mine. I must confess I myself own a few …

And yet, the remarkable Almond Blossom on display in the Van Gogh Museum today differs from the one he painted. Correspondence in the Museum’s archives describes it as featuring pink flowers against a bright blue sky. Today, the blossoms appear almost white.

Van Gogh’s oeuvre includes some of the world’s most famous and comprehensively studied paintings. Researchers have long recognised that some of the artist's pigments were subject to fading but have been unsure about the timescale of this problem. And if it is still ongoing, how fast will the pigments fade?

Given my affection for Almond Blossom and other van Gogh works, I was delighted when the AXA Research Fund awarded a grant to a PhD candidate at the University of Amsterdam (he is also affiliated with the Van Gogh Museum) to create tools—specialised devices and computer models—showing the future colour changes expected in Van Gogh’s paintings under different lighting conditions.

This is just one of the many grants AXA has made since 2002. Over that period, AXA has also supported innovative research by leading academic institutions and organisations, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Tate Modern, the Centre de Recherche sur la Conservation des Collections (CRCC) and the Vitra Design Museum.

Supporting technological innovation

Such studies have primarily focused on improving how we maintain or restore artworks. However, another recent project benefitting from AXA’s support had a different objective: preserving a cultural heritage.

The area surrounding the Centre Pompidou in Paris is one of the city’s most vibrant and dynamic locales. The heart of the neighbourhood is the Place Igor Stravinsky, featuring the fantastic Stravinsky Fountain, designed by Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely. Their concoction comprises 16 sculpted fountains representing the works of the Russian composer. The sounds and colours created in the Fountain’s shallow basin have been variously described as whimsical, abstract and silly. Even jaded Parisians can’t help but smile as they pass through the plaza.

However, residents and visitors alike often don’t realise that the headquarters of The Institute de Recherche et Coordination Musique Acoustique (IRCAM) is situated beneath the Stravinsky Fountain. This underground complex of laboratories, studios and workshops, designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, also houses The Espace de Projection, a unique space conceived and built to support the creation of dynamic acoustic works.

The defining feature of the Espace de Projection is its variability. It can be used as a concert hall, a recording studio, or for experiments. The adjustable ceiling panels and roller curtains can create different sub-spaces. Both are also fitted with rotatable modules surfaced with materials offering three different acoustic effects: absorbent, reflective or diffusive. Thus, the room’s form and acoustic properties are highly adaptable and readily changeable.

The Espace de Projection closed in 2014 but re-opened in 2023 after AXA became its exclusive sponsor. With our support, IRCAM has undertaken a campaign to renew and modernise the equipment and to re-establish the Espace de Projection at the forefront of innovation for sound professionals. Now, it once again hosts electronic music concerts, installations, and participatory and immersive performances.

To mark the re-opening of the space, AXA supported the creation of Transfert, an immersive work explicitly designed for the Espace de Projection by Florent Caron Darras, a composer who transposes sounds from nature into musical notes. AXA also participated in designing and producing a tailor-made digital sound work that extends the musical DNA of the Stravinsky Fountain, an addition I expect Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely would heartily endorse. I certainly do. Although I don’t currently live in Paris, I now look forward, more than ever, to strolling through the Place Igor Stravinsky and experiencing its ever-changing sights and sounds.

Safeguarding cultural heritages

Attending TEFAF is also something I eagerly anticipate every year: taking in a glorious expanse of artworks spanning centuries, being surrounded by others who share a passion for art, and, this year, participating in the inaugural TEFAF Summit.

The topic of the inaugural Summit is “Safeguarding Cultural Heritage in a Changing World”. TEFAF Maastricht is hosting it with the Netherlands Commission for UNESCO and TEFAF’s long-time heritage partner, Cultural Emergency Response. AXA XL is honoured to be the primary sponsor of this vital addition to the fair.

As a platform for meaningful discourse and collaboration, the TEFAF Summit seeks to raise awareness and promote actionable solutions towards safeguarding the world's invaluable cultural treasures and heritage

Although our contemporary understanding of cultural heritage can be broad and challenging to describe, tangible cultural heritage includes monuments, town sites, archaeological sites, and artworks that carry and transmit a society's spiritual, material, intellectual, and emotional features. (So-called intangible forms of heritage, which are also worth preserving, include oral traditions, community bonds and languages.)

Preserving cultural heritages inherited from past generations against multiple threats—including conflict, climate change and geopolitical tensions—is becoming increasingly urgent and complex.

In France, for example, the Heritage Foundation has identified more than two thousand sites—including village churches, listed manor houses and ancient amphitheatres—that help define local cultural heritages and contribute to local economies. And that are threatened by various forces. (The Heritage Foundation was created in 1996 as the first private organisation in France dedicated to preserving local heritage.) AXA has partnered with the Heritage Foundation since 2019, and our financial support has helped restore and protect around 25 sites, nominated via an open vote, for their significance as essential links in our collective memory.

We have also helped restore other significant French cultural landmarks with an international reach, including The Chateau de Versailles, Notre-Dame de Paris, and the Salle des États in the Louvre.

I'm delighted that we are once again supporting TEFAF Maastricht, one of the largest art fairs in the world, as Lead Partner, and to be celebrating 20 years of partnership between TEFAF and AXA. The work we have done together over the years is a shining example of what can be achieved through collaboration and a shared passion. This 2024 edition of TEFAF Maastricht is no doubt exceptional, and I hope you will enjoy perusing the fair as much as I will.