“Inanimate objects, do you have a soul?” Quoting Raymond Devos to evoke Christophe Chabouté’s new album seems apt. Musée, just published by Glénat, is an original proposition, an invitation to reverie and a reflection on human nature. A singular unity of place, the building in question is a former palace transformed into a railway station at the turn of the 20th century, and now home to the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. The story of this book is the way in which the works adorning its halls are seen by our contemporaries. The sharp black and white on every page is Christophe Chabouté’s unique trademark. On each of his original plates, he inverts the values, switching from white to black to make the figures stand out, both literally and figuratively. He pushes contrasts to the extreme, leaving nothing to chance.
