Petit Bulletin GRENOBLE - Exhibitions Grenoble: Collections - Dauphinois Museum: solidarity, plague and tuberculosis - article published by The editorial staff<

Places of mountain confinement in the event of meteorological whims, the refuges were to be the subject of a new exhibition at the Dauphinois Museum, supposed to have started on March 25. It is another quirk, epidemiological this time, which means that we will only discover this exhibition with the reopening of the establishment which, for the moment, has not been announced. In the meantime, the institution, through social networks, has chosen to "highlight the local actors of solidarity throughout history", as explained by Olivier Cogne, its director. "It's a way of paying tribute to the volunteers and caregivers who are strongly mobilized by this crisis," he adds. Thus, each week, social networks (Facebook and Instagram) make it possible to distribute treasures. Example: a photographic portrait and a short biographical notice relating to key figures such as Abbé Pierre, or to other lesser-known personalities such as, for example, Lucie Baud, a feminist trade unionist from the beginning of the 20th century.

In addition, we asked Olivier Cogne to find out whether there were any works or documents in the collections that could echo the current situation. He quickly replied that he would be delighted to present several pieces to us. First of all, there is a series of posters, including this one, dating from the 1910s and intended to raise funds to fight against tuberculosis in the unique context of the First World War. Indeed, the living conditions in the trenches and the use of poison gas then seriously weakened the health of the soldiers. In 1916, nearly 60,000 of them were affected by tuberculosis, so many disused buildings of worship were made available to treat them. A situation that is reminiscent of the requisitions that have been made in recent weeks to accommodate the sick – a convention center in London – or the deceased – an ice rink converted into a morgue in Madrid. Except that at the time, once the sick were cured, they were, paradoxically, sent to the front to be massacred...

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— Laura Berry Thu Jul 14 18:02:27 +0000 2016

The other piece that Olivier Cogne wanted to present to us is a sculpture of Saint-Roch, protector of the plague victims. "One of the centerpieces of the museum's collections," he says. Born in the 14th century in the heart of the Black Death epidemic which then ravaged Europe, Saint-Roch came to the aid of the plague-stricken before in turn contracting the disease, from which he miraculously recovered. The gesture he makes with his hand allows him to reveal, on his thigh, the traces of the incision of a bubo characteristic of the plague. A magnificent walnut sculpture that we will have the pleasure of going to contemplate when cultural venues reopen… at the Musée de l'Ancien Évêché, where it is on deposit.