A desire for nature, sea and culture? Normandy and its summer exhibitions await you. On the program, Traquandi in Caen, the surrealist universe of Nadja at the Museum of Fine Arts in Rouen or the Deauville of Kees Van Dongen at the Franciscaines.

Knowledge of the Arts anticipates your summer cultural tour in Normandy. In Caen, two must-sees Museum of Fine Arts: Tranquandi who works on Beauty and Ribot who takes care of his chiaroscuro. The monumental sculptures of Lilian Bourgeat in Saint-Pierre-de-Varengeville will not look down on you, and the Abbey of Jumièges will welcome you with reflections and political creations in “At the edge of the world, live our vertigo”. Discover our top exhibitions to discover this summer in the region.

1. In Caen, Traquandi, praise of beauty

He loves matter, texture, light. Seemingly simple, stripped down, almost monochrome, the canvases of Gérard Traquandi (born in 1952) result from a long process. He proceeds by successive layers, adds, removes, scrapes… Each layer feeds the other, can be guessed in transparency. The artist was given carte blanche to occupy the rooms dedicated to the 20th and 21st century collections, and presents recent works to which are added four large unpublished paintings produced for the exhibition. ” Society floods us with ugliness. The art of producing to criticize our world does not interest me. His painting is a hymn to beauty.

“Gerard Traquandi. Nature’s Approval »
Museum of Fine Arts of Caen
www.mba.caen.fr
The Castle, 14000 Caen
Until September 4

2. In Caen, Ribot, a man in the shadows

The result of a collaboration between the Musée des Augustins in Toulouse, the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Marseille and the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Caen, this major retrospective honors a painter somewhat forgotten in the history of the ‘ ‘art. An admirer of Jean-Siméon Chardin and fascinated by the chiaroscuro effects of Italian and Spanish Caravaggios, Théodule Ribot (1823-1891) drew on sources from the past to build, as an autodidact, a powerful body of work that remained sealed off from the research of his contemporaries. . The exhibition brings together ninety works (religious paintings, still lifes, portraits) from French and international collections.

“Theodule Ribot. A delicious darkness »
Museum of Fine Arts of Caen
www.mba.caen.fr
The Castle, 14000 Caen
Until September 4

Théodule Ribot, Marine, oil on wood, 16 x 25.5 cm Laren, Singer Museum © Photo de presse RMN

3. In Saint-Pierre-de-Varengeville, Lilian Bourgeat, XXL

Difficult to put on boots that measure three meters high, to pull an oversized wheelbarrow or even to operate a giant tire-cork. Born in 1970, Lilian Bourgeat likes to disturb the perception of the spectator by planning monumental sculptures from everyday objects which, in fact, lose all use value. For this exhibition, which takes place in the rooms of the art center and in the park, the artist has chosen to present some of his most emblematic pieces, to which are added several new creations. A visit placed under the sign of surprise and humor, to share with the family.

Lilian Bourgeat
Matmut-Daniel Havis Contemporary Art Center
www.matmutpourlesarts.fr/centre-art-contemporain
425 Rue du Château, 76480 Saint-Pierre-de-Varengeville
Until September 25

Lilian Bourgeatn Invendus, – Boots, 2022, polyester resin, 300 x 200 x 80 cm © L. Bourgeat/Studio Matmut 2022

4. In Giverny, a look at the collection

Paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs: the museum offers an anthology of works from its collections spanning the ages, from Camille Pissarro, Theodore Butler, Édouard Vuillard or Maurice Boutet de Monvel to Jacques Monory and Terri Weifenbach.

“Summer of collecting”
Giverny Impressionism Museum
www.mdig.fr
99 Rue Claude Monet, 27620 Giverny
Until October 2

5. In Jumièges, Lebanon today

In the abbey house, a dozen photographers and videographers attest to the vitality of Lebanese contemporary creation. Poetry and politics, autobiographies and views on the tormented history of a country ravaged by civil war, where art, without changing the world, is a resistance.

“At the edge of the world, live our vertigo”
Jumieges Abbey
www.abbayedejumieges.fr
24 Rue Guillaume the Conqueror, 76480 Jumieges
Until November 6

6. In Rouen, the heroines of the summer

Surrealism is honored around Nadja, the work of André Breton written in Varengeville-sur Mer in 1927, which ends with this famous sentence: ” Beauty will be convulsive or will not be “. The autobiographical account, in which the author recounts his few days spent with the fascinating dancer Léona Delcourt, is punctuated by around forty images (reproductions of works by Uccello, Braque, De Chirico, Man Ray, etc.) which constitute the common thread of the exhibition. This is designed as a stroll through the world of surrealism and its protagonists (Paul Éluard, Benjamin Péret, Yves Tanguy…), thanks to an anthology of paintings, sculptures, photographs and objects.

“Nadja, a surreal itinerary”
Rouen Museum of Fine Arts
mbarouen.fr
Esplanade Marcel Duchamp, 76000 Rouen
Until November 6

Marcel Mariën, cover of Nadja, collage coll. part © A. Breton. Atelier André Breton

7. Van Dongen’s Deauville

For their summer exhibition, the Franciscans highlight one of the stars of Deauville: Kees Van Dongen (1877-1968). Guest of honor from 1919, the Dutch painter contributed to the aura of the station and appealed to all the socialites of the time. Bathers adorned with diamonds, elegant who appear on the boards, photographers on the beach, masked and costumed balls, tango dancers, parade at the hippodrome… The artist has used all the clichéd subjects of leisure and pleasure scenes of Deauville to turn his painting into a fantasy machine. Although the exhibition is thematic and not retrospective, it highlights recurring motifs in his work (such as his obsession with high-heeled shoes or his morbid treatment of the greenish-toned chair) and the evolution of Van Dongen’s style. A whole part of the event shows in particular the influence of his trip to Morocco and Egypt on his treatment of the figures, whose almond eyes sublimated by kohl recall the decorations of the tombs of the pharaohs in Thebes, or even on the representation of his female figures, inspired by heavily made-up courtesans and wearing numerous jewels that fascinated him.

“Kees Van Dongen. Deauville fits me like a glove”
The Franciscan Deauville
lesfranciscaines.fr
145 B, Avenue de la Republique, 14800 Deauville
Until September 25

Kees Van Dongen, Bather in Deauville, circa 1920, oil on canvas, 195 x 129 cm, private collection © Adagp, Paris, 2022