[en] During the first half of the 19th century, it was through exhibitions that the main issues concerning the development of the industrial arts were revealed. Between 1798, the date of the first exhibition of the creations of the French national industries, and 1851, the year of The Great Exhibition in London, the art world experienced half a century of profound changes. These public events created a craze and brought about the publication of the first art reviews on the subject. Exhibitions of industrial products, and those of the royal manufactories, encountered similar though distinct difficulties, and the various approaches taken provide many ways in which to consider the relationships between industrial arts, luxury arts and fine arts, between production and reception, and between utility and function. Sèvres porcelain, reputed as one of the most esteemed of the French industrial arts, is an emblematic example of this transformation. While Sèvres porcelain was also visible in the Sèvres boutique or during the annual celebration of the town of Sèvres, during which the manufactory opened its doors to the wider public, the unprecedented importance of these porcelain exhibitions at the Louvre indicated new aspirations for this decorative art —new ways in which it would be presented and represented, and new ways that it would be discussed and appraised. In this article, the significance and implications of these exhibitions are analysed and understood by contrasting different types of statements with regard to the political and aesthetic debates of the time, as well as by considering the works of art themselves and the ways in which they were displayed.

[fr] Durant la première moitié du xixe siècle, les expositions permettent de cristalliser les principaux enjeux du développement des arts industriels. Entre 1798, date de la première exposition des produits de l'industrie, et 1851, année de l'Exposition universelle de Londres, un demi-siècle de profonds changements s'est écoulé. Ces présentations publiques font naître un engouement et provoquent la publication des premières critiques d'art sur le sujet. Les différents types d'expositions — celles des produits de l'industrie et celles des manufactures royales –, traversées par des problématiques proches mais cependant singulières, fournissent des matériaux pour penser les articulations entre arts industriels, arts du luxe et beaux-arts, entre production et réception, utilité et fonction. Les porcelaines de Sèvres, reconnues comme l'un des fleurons des arts industriels français, offrent un exemple emblématique de cette mutation. Alors que ces productions étaient également visibles dans le magasin de vente de Sèvres ou lors de la fête annuelle de la commune de Sèvres pendant laquelle la manufacture ouvrait largement ses portes, l'importance inédite de ces expositions de porcelaines au Louvre et leur dimension publique impliquent de nouvelles ambitions, représentations et discours à questionner. L'exposition en tant que dispositif est analysée et appréhendée, dans cet article, à travers la confrontation de différents types d'énoncés, à l'aune donc des débats politiques et esthétiques, mais aussi à travers les œuvres et leur mise en scène.