Charles Ratton FIG. 8 (below): Pair of twin figures, by the Shaki Atelier. Yoruba, Nigeria. 19th century. Wood. H: 29 cm. Musée du Quai Branly, inv# 70.2003.3.7.1 and 2. © Musée du Quai Branly. Photo: Patrick Gries and Valárie Torre. FIG. 9 (right): Post from a men’s house. Solomon Islands. Wood. Ex Charles Ratton. Guy Ladrière, Paris. © Musée du Quai Branly. Photo: Claude Germain. exhibition in order to give the public an idea of the quality, and to some extent of the quantity, that Ratton brought to his contemporaries, not only in the areas of African, Oceanic, and North American art, but in those of Medieval art, and classical archaeology as well, which were his primary fields of interest. MM: As for our concept of the exhibition, our approach was essentially chronological, with some concessions to this structure to help contextualize the man. The first exhibition gallery is a reconstitution of Ratton’s office, which we include to emphasize the eclecticism both of his collection and of his eye. There is a mixture of all kinds of objects that passed through his hands here, from the Haute Époque to Oceanic and African. Then the exhibition turns to the presentation of specific works, many of which have become classics; of archival documents and photographs; and an account of major exhibitions, not only ones that Ratton was directly involved in, but also of others that had an important place in the history of the reception of non-Western art in France and the United States. TAM: That’s when one realizes that he was everywhere… PD: Yes, he was everywhere and, more importantly, he was always the first to be there. We felt we could use Ratton’s story as a springboard to tell a larger one, since this was a man who created exhibitions, engaged in commercial activities, participated in the making of films, and had close relationships with many artists. … He was an excellent initiator—the best there was in the 1930s and 1940s. We were surprised to discover the extent to which he had been in contact with people we thought perhaps he knew only casually, but with whom it turned out he was close for an extended period of time. For example, I had never imagined that by 1928 and 1929, he had already been in contact with André Breton. TAM: What facet of Ratton’s personality and work have you chosen to focus upon in this exhibition? PD: If I had to retain just one part of his story, what would be most important to me would be to emphasize that, contrary to what one generally thinks about France and French museums, a dealer can be a scholar and a discoverer who is not blindly guided by the pursuit of profit, even though he doesn’t ignore that aspect, of course. It is a fact that Ratton contributed greatly to the state of knowledge about tribal art and that he had significant influence on how his contemporaries perceived it.
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