The Scene & Herd column in ArtForum has Nicolas Trembley asking how much influence Parisian dealer Emmanuel Perrontin has over the palace:

The Murakami show was produced with the help and financial support of Perrotin, the Parisian gallery owner who seems to be subtly curating the Chateau’s program with his roster of marketable artists. Indeed, referring to Murakami, Xavier Veilhan (the prior show at Versailles), and Maurizio Cattelan (at one point thought to be next), dealer Eva Presenhuber commented that, “Perrotin has all the most powerful artists of the moment.” But it seems the nation’s Ministry of Culture is putting pressure on the museum to alternate between a French artist and a foreign one, and rumor has it that next year the star will be Bernard Venet. “If that happens, it will really be a step down, and that would be very damaging to this international program,” whispered those standing around Perrotin. Curator Laurent Le Bon, who is organizing every contemporary art show at Versailles, in his politically correct French style, assured me that he did not know the name of the next artist and that only palace president Jean-Jacques Aillagon was au courant.

Rising Sun (ArtForum)