English-language curator´s tour of the exhibition "Voltaire: Making History"

Saturday 22. November at 14:00 - 15:00

University of Tartu Art Museum

On Saturday, 22 November at 14:00, curator Sophie Turner will guide an English-language tour of the exhibition "Voltaire: Making History" at the University of Tartu Art Museum. All interested visitors are welcome to join!

The exhibition brings together under one roof rare treasures from French collections held in various museums and libraries – books, manuscripts, artworks and archival materials. The display offers a distinctive look at Voltaire and highlights how the French writer and philosopher has shaped Estonian cultural history.

The exhibition sheds light on intellectual connections between Baltic and Western European Enlightenment thought that have so far largely been overlooked, starting from the 18th century. It also tackles broader questions: how Voltaire’s fight against fanaticism and his defence of tolerance resonated with the Estonian intelligentsia two centuries later, and why, in the 1920s and 1930s, he once again became a symbol of satire, critical thinking and cultural modernity.

Curator Sophie Turner is a cultural historian specialising in early modern France. Before moving to Estonia, she worked as a lecturer at the University of Oxford, where she also completed her doctorate. In Estonia, she has researched French-origin collections at the National Library of Estonia as well as in museums and libraries across the country.

  • Tickets for the guided tour cost €8
  • The museum card is also valid; cardholders are asked to book a free ticket in advance through pre-sale.

"Voltaire: Making History" is an international collaboration with the French Institute of Estonia, the Goethe-Institut, and the French Embassy in Estonia. It presents rare manuscripts, books, artworks and archival materials from collections in Estonia, France, the United Kingdom and Latvia.

More information: muuseum.ut.ee

University of Tartu Art Museum • Ülikooli tänav 18, 50090 Tartu, Tartu maakond, Estonia

Google Map of Ülikooli tänav 18, 50090 Tartu, Tartu maakond, Estonia

Tartu Ülikooli muuseum

muuseum@ut.ee

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