Exhibition « Manuscript Found in Saragossa, an Investigation into a World Novel »

Description

Developed under the enigmatic title « Manuscript Found in Saragossa », a novel with a destiny as tumultuous as legendary. Written in French between 1794 and 1815, this monumental work by Jean Potocki (1761-1815) is born in episodes and undergoes countless revisions by its author, an extraordinary Polish count, scholar, traveler, historian, and scientist, before various publishers took hold of the text to produce partial, truncated, or unfaithful versions. It was only two centuries later that meticulous research established the existence of two authentic versions, from 1804 and 1810, finally published in 2006 by Peeters and two years later by Garnier-Flammarion. Divided into days and organized into decamers, the initiatory adventures of young Alphonse van Worden in Sierra Morena plunge into the heart of a dizzying narrative construction. In a jumble of stories, the most diverse traditions are invoked: from demonology to the fantastic, from the Bible to esoteric sources, encyclopedias, doctrines, and treatises to libertine tales. This kaleidoscope recounts, through the hero's learning, both the ambition to embrace all knowledge and the fragility of certainties when confronted with the experience of multiplicity and otherness. Gathering an unprecedented collection of archival documents and works, the exhibition traces the winding history of « Manuscript Found in Saragossa », which has become a masterpiece of world literature. At the crossroads of « One Thousand and One Nights », Laurence Sterne's « Tristram Shandy », Cervantes' « Don Quixote », and M. G. Lewis's « Monk », this world novel challenges with surprising relevance: in the face of the profusion of stories, systems, and doctrines, how to become a free subject capable of understanding and choosing?
Entry: CHF 8.–: full price, CHF 5.–: retirees, unemployed, AI, groups of ten or more over 25 years old, Free: under 25, residents of Montricher, library members, Swiss Museum Passports, and every first Sunday of the month

Highlights

• Exhibition on the novel « Manuscript Found in Saragossa »
• Presentation of unpublished archival documents
• Exploration of themes of multiplicity and otherness

General Information

The exhibition takes place at the Jan Michalski Foundation in Montricher, Switzerland. It highlights Jean Potocki's work and traces the complex history of his novel through various stories and traditions.

Location

Chemin de Bois Désert 10, 1147 Montricher, Switzerland

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