"Jean-Jacques Henner. Toujours ardent."

Due to the presentation of the exhibition "Elles, les élèves de Jean-Jacques Henner", part of the Henner museum's collections is moving to the Musée Bertrand in Châteauroux!

The exhibition "Jean-Jacques Henner (1829-1905). "Toujours ardent", presented from December 7, 2024 to May 4, 2025, intends to pay tribute to the sensitive work of this unclassifiable Alsatian painter.

The exhibition "Jean-Jacques Henner (1829-1905). "Toujours ardent" ", presented from December 7, 2024 to May 4, 2025, intends to pay tribute to the sensitive work of this unclassifiable Alsatian painter.

The chosen subtitle, "toujours ardent", is inspired by the motto of the Cald'arrosti (from the Italian "Chaud! Rôtis!", in reference to hot chestnuts), an artistic fraternity founded in Rome in the early 1860s, to which Henner belonged. Much more than a simple fraternal maxim, this motto embodies the creative drive that animated Henner throughout his artistic quest.

Nearly 60 paintings, including L'Alsace. Elle attend (1871), considered to be the Henner museum's major work, are thus on loan for the occasion, alongside paintings from the collections of the Musée d'Orsay, the Petit Palais - Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris, and the Musée Pasteur.

Following an immersion into the intimacy of the master's studio, thanks to the presentation of objects and furniture belonging to him, visitors are invited to discover the intensity of Henner's work through the discovery of Italy, his career as a brilliant portraitist which enabled him to achieve initial notoriety, and finally his commitment to historical events and the affirmation of his style through history painting. It is in this last section that the famous redheaded figures, such as La Liseuse or La Source, emblematic of the painter of the "fauve golds" are presented.

On the occasion of this exhibition, the Musée Bertrand is also presenting within its permanent tour a selection of works from its own collection executed by other Prix de Rome artists and resonating with the Cal'darrosti.

Free admission.