In what would seem an unlikely pairing, the sophisticated aesthetics of French decorative arts and the animation of Walt Disney instead unite to create a delightful, if not surprising, marriage. New Canaan Library welcomes Wolf Burchard, associate curator in the Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, to speak about his book, Inspiring Walt Disney: The Animation of French Decorative Arts and the current exhibition at the MET. The live webinar takes place on Tuesday, February 22, at 7 PM EST; please register at newcanaanlibrary.org for Zoom sign in information.
In his book and through this talk, Burchard explains how and why Walt Disney and the Disney Studios wove the aesthetics of French decorative arts into the fairy-tale worlds of beloved animated films, from Cinderella to Beauty and the Beast and beyond, drawing surprising parallels between Disney’s magical creations and their artistic inspirations. The visual, fantasy-like, hallmarks of popular Disney animated films – from pink castles and talking sofas to inanimate objects coming to life – were, in fact, the figments of the colorful salons of Rococo Paris.