Hearts

This  exhibition  aims  to  open  the  cultural  program  of  the  museum  beyond  the  nineteenth  century  by  exploring  the  continuation  of  Romanticism  in  contemporary  art,  in  resonance  with  the  museum’s  collections. Like Romantic writers and painters who put the passions of the heart at the core of their creation, the exhibition takes visitors on an aesthetic discovery of the heart and its representation. The  heart  as  an  organ,  motif  and  symbol  is  presented  here  through  various  techniques:  painting,  drawing,  sculpture,  ceramics,  neon  and  photography.  Some  artists  illustrate  their  feelings  and  interior  torment in harmony with nineteenth-century Romanticism. Others use the motif as an aesthetic form and invite  humanistic  thinking  by  opening  the  horizons  of  feeling  toward  dreams,  the  ideal  and  the  sublime. 

In addition to the emblematic figures of Niki de Saint Phalle, Jim Dine, Annette Messager, Sophie Calle, Pierre and Gilles, Jean-Michel Othoniel and Françoise Pétrovitch, visitors will be able to discover about twenty other artists in this exhibition.

The  visit is structured around seven sections offering  a narration on love and continues throughout  the  museum  and  garden, inviting visitors to appreciate the permanent collection from a sensitive and poetic perspective. The concept of the visit is to make visitors experiment the various feelings of love by  mentioning the major themes of seduction, love at first sight, declaration of love, eroticism, breakup,  mourning and  everlasting love. Miniatures, drawings and precious  objects next to more spectacular  formats mixing a naturalistic approach and idealistic  vision illustrate this popular design, its symbolic meaning and its aesthetic adoption in today’s art.

This exhibition will open on Valentine’s  Day, with an exceptional day of free entrance for all art, music and poetry lovers. A rich cultural program, activities  and  tools  facilitating  the  understanding  —  as a  photo  booth, a visit for kids, guided tours and workshops—will make the visitors’ heart pound at le musée de la Vie romantique.

Curators
Gaëlle Rio, Directrice, musée de la Vie romantique
Maribel Nadal Jové, curatrice invitée