What People are Saying...
Last week, the plenary meeting of all the employees of the finance and recovery department of Crédit Agricole d'Ile de France was held.
In the majestic setting of the auditorium of the Louvre Museum, we had the pleasure of hosting an original lecture by Vanessa Badré. His comments on carefully chosen masterpieces allowed us to approach the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility with a particularly inspiring prism. A moment very appreciated by our team, which boosts its motivation to embody the CSR policy of the Regional Bank. #whatimagesteachus #finances #rse.
Veronique Lozac’h-Diacquenod
CFO at Credit Agricole Ile de France
Thank you Vanessa Badré for coming to our #dassaultsystemes campus and for your enlightening presentation on Art & Innovation.
The links you drew between what we do when we innovate and what artists do were a real revelation. Pure learning pleasure for me & my team.
Florence Verzelen
Executive Vice President in charge of Industry, Marketing and Sustainability Member of Dassault Systèmes Executive Committee
I was mesmerized by Vanessa's ability to weave an entertaining - and very erudite - tale tying distinct artists and paintings across time. She had the attentive public wrapped around her finger. I, like all others, lost the sense of time...a good speaker's delight!
Pedro Burelli
Founder and Managing Partner of B+V Advisors, LLC
Art x ESG x convictions = Vanessa Badré: Magic equation! !️
Thank you for your remarkable intervention with KPMG France in the wonderful setting Molitor Paris - MGallery become with your sequence a real art gallery and a source of inspiration #ESG and #impact
Jean-Marc Liduena
Board Adviser | Strategy | ESG | Senior Partner KPMG
Vanessa Badré’s art lectures are well-researched, intellectually stimulating, and very, very entertaining. I first met Vanessa at a lecture hosted by a friend. Since then, I have been fortunate to attend many of her lectures. Vanessa has the wonderful ability to discover symbolisms, make historical and philosophical connections, and identify intriguing aspects of the subjects under review. Attending one of her lectures is a real educational treat, one that I highly recommend.
A Fábregas
Retired Lawyer, Washington, DC
In 2016, deeply appreciating the art history work of Mme Badré, I invited her to hold a conference tour in China, among which Tshing Hua University, Shanghai International Studies University, Shine Gallery (Shanghai) and China Internet Study Center (Beijing).
She was warmly welcomed at Kunshan Duke University. It was a huge success. Chinese students, faculties, and entrepreneurs highly acknowledged her speeches. She vividly explained how art interacts with the real world and possibly influences the leadership: What young entrepreneurs have been inspired from Mme Badre’s view of art history is: search of (new) values is more adapted to our generation than pure profit driven business.
Jiajia Wang
entrepreneur in culture exchange Rui Feng Institution Shanghai
I always thought art history was a cultural thing of the past until I met Vanessa and attended her seminars. The way she leverages art pieces and their history and makes them so relevant for the way our organizations are addressing competition and major disruptions is just breathtaking. She provides a unique angle to going deep into what makes us develop harmoniously, ethically and foster innovation. Genuinely mind-boggling, a must-know for cutting-edge companies!
François-Xavier Rouxel
Gardyn Founder and CEO
Colorful, compelling, and thought provoking! In January 2016, Vanessa Badré enthralled her audience at the George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum with a lecture that provocatively reinterpreted art history by showing how, through imitation and adaptation, Chinese aesthetics and influence are at the heart of classical French art. Titled “Far West, Far East: From China to Versailles”, this lecture was presented as a complement to our exhibition of photographs showing nineteenth-century landscapes, architecture, and customs displayed alongside contemporaneous Qing-dynasty textiles. This sumptuously illustrated lecture convincingly demonstrated how works of art can heighten understanding of contemporary challenges, in both trade and culture. This innovative approach provided valuable insight into current debates about the relationship between China and western countries.
Lee Talbot
Curator, The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum
Vanessa impressed me so much from the first lecture on art history that she gave in Chevy Chase. Since then, I have been attending various lectures she gave at different venues such as museums and schools.
Because I was the lead of the international diversity and affinity group at the Urban Institute, I invited Vanessa to talk to us about Diversity through art.
It was such a delight and a special treat to listen to the encyclopedic knowledge on art that Vanessa effortlessly shared.
Vanessa is very well organized and communicated eloquently with detail, context and history. She has the confidence of considerable scholarship. The session gave the audience memories to last a lifetime because it was of unique perspective and culturally rich.
Feno Rakotondrazaka Maret PHD
Urban Institute, Washington DC
I have attended couple of seminars organized by Vanessa Badré. Not only have I been passionate about the various topics she covered but I was truly amazed at the power of the messages bore by artists in history that can actually apply to management and leadership today.I am looking forward to the next webinar!
Laurent Cardot
Ariane, Founder and CEO
I've had the pleasure of attending several of Vanessa Badre's classes. She challenges participants to think outside the box as she delves into classic art pieces and their historical contexts and relates them to modern issues of leadership, power, creativity and innovation. She is a master at using art as an instructional tool for life. Her lectures are meticulously researched and powerfully presented - one walks away seeing both the art and one's potential in very new ways.
Dawn Vermilya
Founding Director of Daystar Academy, a bilingual school in Beijing, China
Vanessa talks about art as it should be done: With her profound knowledge as art historian she guides the eyes of the observer to special details of each picture and explains the artist´s intent and shows ways to find truths for today. Her seminars are very inspiring and thought provoking. They work very well online: the images are presented in high quality and by zooming in one can look very closely at the smallest detail. Very recommendable.
Dr. Bock-Pünder
Germany
I was lucky enough to attend the What Images teach us about Guilt and Innocence seminar led by Vanessa. It was an eye opener : not only did I learn a lot about history and art history, but Vanessa also provided a unique perspective on the power of images that expanded my horizon as a manager and entrepreneur.
Stéphanie Cardot
TO DO TODAY Co-Founder & President
Vanessa Du Merle Badre, Esq. is a gifted lecturer on the fine arts as her knowledge is substantial. Her presentations constitute the finest art history seminars ever offered by the Harvard Club of Washington, DC. Mrs. Badre's lecture on 18th century French gardens was universally praised by our audience of professional horticulturists, arborists and fellow art historians as well as by lay people with no particular training in that realm. Her delivery is flawless, entertaining and elegant and enriched by an exemplary slide collection.
C. Pauley
AM '6, Ph.D. Executive Director, Harvard Club of Washington DC
Vanessa Du Merle Badre's art history seminars are just transformative. She transports us to the very world in which painters lived and performed their art,allowing us to see what our modern eyes cannot see. We travel through time and art while still getting to the profound and meaningful understanding of works of art. If you have a chance to attend one of Vanessa's seminars, do not hesitate!
Y. Miller-Grandvaux PHD
Vanessa Du Merle Badré is a cultural and intellectual game changer in the Washington DC area. She brings both endless knowledge and the best of French research into her conferences. Her interdisciplinary approach of art history is utterly thorough and profound, but always original and fun. Thanks to her generous teaching, looking at art becomes forever more interesting.
Katrin Van Bragt & Dirk Wouters
Ambassador of Belgium to the United States (2016-2020)
Art Historian Vanessa Badre presented a set of ten lectures for the Georgetown Neighborhood Library Book Hill Talks Series. Each presentation offered our audience an intimate views of the many interconnected details behind some of the best known master works. We are indeed very thankful for Vanessa Badre's generosity of time and spirit. She is a key figure in the success of Book Hill Talks.
Wendell Kellar
Georgetown Library, Washington, DC
Vanessa has an insatiable curiosity and a great knowledge of art history which make her conferences both lively and useful, whether you are just an amateur or a more mature art collector.
Stéphane Renard
Old Masters dealer – Founder of Stéphane Renard Fine Art (Paris)
I have had the pleasure of attending several of Vanessa’s sessions. She is extremely articulate and has the unique gift of providing fresh perspectives on and insights into the art she is describing.
Amb Paul Hare
Alexandria
Passion and vision is what Vanessa Badre brings to her conferences. In Washington DC, Rochambeau The French International School's parents, students and faculty have been fortunate to benefit from Vanessa's expertise and thought provoking seminars. Vanessa's approach and themes are original, plunging her audience into a new world where obstacles are no longer a threat but rather serve to bring order, stability, confidence, growth and success.
V. Meriot-Burn
Director of Admissions, Rochambeau, French International School, Bethesda
The lecturer gave a great conference about Paris in a French topics course at the university. She showed the multiple faces of the city through an original angle : windows. She presented it with outstanding story telling that made the conference captivating without compromising of the complexity of the topic.
Lê-Minh Guyen
PHD in French medieval literature, adjunct professor American University, Washington
I have had the privilege of being a student of Vanessa Badré’s for several years.
She is a brilliant lecturer - and her seminars are extraordinary in their depth and scope. Vanessa Badre cleverly weaves history, religion, philosophy, mythology ,literature, poetry and much, much more into each lecture. One sees art as a window to history and the human condition.
It is always an intellectual exercise - and one’s mind is challenged to think and explore , question and ponder deeply.
Ms. Badré has been a guest lecturer at two very prominent Washington DC private clubs. Her lectures were highly acclaimed - and - upon request - she was asked to return to lecture again.
It was with great pleasure that I hosted a private lecture in my home. Ms. Badré spoke on “The French Spirit of Gardens: What Do They Teach Us About The French Mind”. Once again, extraordinary!!!!!
M. Miller
Washington DC
I’ve taken perhaps 20 fascinating sessions with Vanessa. Focusing first on a particular work of art, Vanessa then extrapolates to the history of art, and eventually to larger themes. Not only do I learn so much, but she inspires me to want to learn more.
Michelle Krisel
Alexandria
Vanessa Badré has made guest lectures in classes of 9 th and 10 th grade. Her lectures combined a rigorous analysis, a diverse iconographic choice. She is very capable of animating groups both small and large (from a class of 20 to a group of several classes of 100 students).
Valérie Croquez
agrégée de Lettres modernes, French International School, Bethesda