Duels - The art of fighting

The Musée de l’Armée returns to the duel’s historical sources to explore its main principles and developments, including the fantasies of our collective imagination.

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David against Goliath, Athos against d’Artagnan, Chirac against Mitterrand, Federer against Nadal and Harry Potter against Voldemort, etc. from ancient Egyptian times to the present day, from East to West, men have fought in duels throughout history and in fiction: so to resolve a dispute, seek redress or simply for the sake of their honour, two adversaries met in single combat, staged according to very precise rules.

A duel is a form of scheduled, ritualised, even choreographed and legitimised violence: it complies with a protocol which, depending upon the era and the country, has been more or less
authorised.

Practiced, tolerated or condemned, but always appreciated, the duel is a genuine social phenomenon which has crossed borders and travelled down the ages. Ferocious, flamboyant, serious or spectacular, this mode of confrontation is ever present, in various forms, in the world of politics, sport, art and video games.

Through the Duels. The Art of Fighting exhibition, the Musée de l’Armée returns to the duel’s historical sources to explore its main principles and developments, including the fantasies of our collective imagination.

Staged to coincide with the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, notably whilst fencing events are taking place at the Grand Palais, the Duels. The Art of Fighting exhibition allows the origins of this Olympic discipline to be retraced: although duellists no longer fight each other to the death, they observe rules based on various forms of duels that the Musée de l’Armée is keen to analyse.

Swords, rapiers, pistols, sabres, navaja blades, daggers and even tennis racquets are on display, in a theatrical setting that plunges visitors into the world of the duel.

The duel’s greatest historical figures are portrayed throughout the itinerary: Mademoiselle de Maupin piercing the Duke de Luynes’s shoulder with her sword before taking him as a lover; the Samourais Musashi and Kojirō fight on the island of Ganryu; the knight Jean de Carrouges confronting Jacques le Gris in 1386, in what is considered to be the last trial by combat; and also the Baron de
Jarnac and François de Vivonne, Lord of La Châtaigneraie, fighting a duel in front of King Henry II and the court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye castle in 1547.

The protagonists of colourful stories that illustrate how, over the centuries, reality and fiction (novels, films, etc.) have influenced each other and helped to root the “spectacle” of the duel within
popular culture and the collective imagination.

A range of cultural activities will be scheduled around the exhibition: concerts, conferences, film screenings, guided tours, and activities for younger visitors.

Curators – Musée de l’Armée:

• Hélène Boudou-Reuzé, Print Collection Manager, Fine Arts and Heritage Department
• Julia Bovet, Project Manager, Museography Department
• Dominique Prévôt, Head of Documentary Studies, Ancien Régime Department
• Vincent Mouraret, assistant to the Curator