Éric de Chassey on Simon Hantaï

This is a transcript of an interview with Éric de Chassey conducted by Mick Finch on the occasion of the Simon Hantaï exhibition curated by de Chassey at the Villa Médici in Rome between the 12 February to 11 May 2014. De Chassey is Professor of Art History at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Lyons and has, since 2009, been the Director of the French Academy in Rome, the Villa Medici. The Villa Medici exhibition took place after the major Hantaï exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in 2013 for which de Chassey had contributed an catalogue essay on Hantaï’s silkscreen work. The interview discusses the context of the Villa Medici exhibition and particuarly the way Hantaï’s latter years were represented. The interview took place at the Villa Medici on Sunday 11 May 2014.