A unique agreement between the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art & the French company SEMITOUR—known for its facsimiles & art reproductions—like those of Lascaux IV, was signed Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at the MET. The agreement involved the reproduction of two jewels of French Renaissance art from the Château de Biron, that have been on display since 1908 at New York's prestigious Metropolitan Museum of Art.
As part of the restoration of the Château de Biron, Semitour wished to have reproductions of the original sculptures so that they could once again be exhibited in their original home. Semitour’s subsidiary, L'Atelier des Fac-similés Périgord, offered a state-of-the-art & safe solution.
The two 16th century statues in question are La Piéta with Donors and the Entombment of Christ. They remain on view at the MET’S Department of Medieval Art in Gallery 306. The casts or reproductions will be returned to the Château de Biron’s remarkable 2-story chapel where they had been housed since about 1515 to 1907. In 1907, the two statues were bought by John Pierpont Morgan, one the world's richest men and president at the time of the Metropolitan Museum.
See full release below & for historical context the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Press Kit
About SEMITOUR Created in 1998, Semitour has been entrusted by the Dordogne Departmental Council with the major cultural and leisure sites of the Périgord/Dordogne
About the Château de Biron “The seat of one of the four Baronies of Périgord, the Chateau de Biron occupies a strategic position on the borders of Périgord and Agenais, not far from the fortified town of Monpazier. Its history is linked to the story of one family – the Gontaut-Birons – who held the barony from the Middle Ages (11th century) for eight centuries until, in 1938, the Marquis of Biron fell into ruin and was forced to sell his chateau.”
