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TICKETING

A co-production

Relive the evening
who revolutionized the history of art

Paris, April 15, 1874, eight o'clock in the evening. In the former studio of the famous photographer Nadar, on Boulevard des Capucines, some thirty independent artists are preparing to exhibit innovative works outside the official Salon. Ambitious, provocative, visionary... these painters are called Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Berthe Morisot, Paul Cézanne, Camille Pissarro and Edgar Degas.

This initiative marked the start of one of the major movements in the history of art: Impressionism. Follow in the footsteps of this group of daring painters and relive, in virtual reality, the birth of this great artistic movement!

Discover the birth of impressionism

This journey through time will take you beyond the exhibition to emblematic places from the beginnings of the Impressionist movement. You will be transported to the Salon of Painting and Sculpture, then to the studio of the painter Frédéric Bazille, where the idea for this exhibition was born.

You will also find yourself on the island of La Grenouillère, in the company of Monet and Renoir painting together, and finally in Le Havre, where Monet painted his famous painting "Impression, Sunrise". These different encounters allow you to gradually grasp the bonds of friendship and rivalry that unite the members of the group, the nature of their artistic quest and the scale of the movement they are creating.

Historical reconstruction and scientific expertise

What was Paris like at the time? How was Nadar's studio arranged? How were the exhibition's paintings hung? What did the painters look like?
This experiment is the result of ambitious and meticulous scientific work, supported by the Musée d'Orsay, which has made it possible to reconstruct, as faithfully as possible, this major artistic turning point.

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THE PAINTERS' GALLERY

A founding artist of the Impressionist group, Degas distinguished himself from his colleagues by his choice of subjects. This upper-class man, the son of a banker, did not practice outdoor painting: rather than landscapes, he preferred to depict Parisian life in all its modernity. He painted the interiors of cafés, or the world of entertainment, where dancers performed on stage, rehearsed or rested. He was also interested in female workers – milliners or laundresses – focusing on their gestures and attitudes. In La Repasseuse, Degas takes a close look at a young woman busy with her task: here, the young model Emma Dobigny. With a few strokes of charcoal, chalk and pastel, he describes her repetitive movements and conveys her weariness.
A founding member of the Impressionist group, Edgar Degas is famous for his depictions of Parisian life, particularly dancers, café interiors and women at work.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir is one of the artists most closely associated with the first Impressionist exhibition. He participated in its organization, probably deciding on its hanging. A brilliant and sensitive landscape painter, he was also fascinated by the modern world, and depicted his contemporaries in works that were vibrant with life. His painting La Parisienne takes as his model a young actress, Henriette Henriot, dressed in the latest fashions. Renoir restores the vivacity and elegance of this young woman, and firmly anchors her in her time.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, a key artist at the first Impressionist exhibition, stands out for his sensitive landscapes and vibrant scenes of modern life, depicting his contemporaries with vivacity and elegance.
Originally from the south of France, Cézanne remained throughout his life strongly attached to the landscapes of his childhood, such as the Sainte-Victoire mountain, near Aix-en-Provence, his hometown. In the early 1870s, he stayed in Paris and Auvers-sur-Oise, where he learned outdoor painting alongside Camille Pissarro. The latter invited him to participate in the first Impressionist exhibition. In this exhibition, Cézanne presented recent works: two landscapes of Auvers, as well as a genre scene, A Modern Olympia. A sketch, a provocative work by its theme – set in a brothel – and by its particularly loose style, the painting caused a scandal and would be one of the most criticized.
Deeply connected to the landscapes of his native Aix-en-Provence, Cézanne brought a revolutionary approach to painting with his bold brushwork and exploration of form, leaving a lasting impact on modern art.
Famous for his Water Lilies, borrowing their motif from the water lilies he observed in the pond of his garden in Giverny, Monet favored open-air painting, which he adopted in his youth. A founding member of the Impressionist group, he worked with his colleagues in the Paris area and in the Normandy region, to which he remained deeply attached throughout his life. His painting Impression, Sunrise, painted in Le Havre, Normandy, is the work that would give its name to the Impressionist movement.
Claude Monet, a founding member of the Impressionist group, is renowned for his outdoor paintings and his iconic Water Lilies series, inspired by his garden in Giverny and the changing light in the Normandy region.
Camille Pissarro was the only Impressionist artist - of whom he was the oldest - to have participated in all of the group's exhibitions, from 1874 to 1886, thus establishing himself as one of its central figures. In the early 1870s, he encouraged his companions to go out and paint on location, in the open air, and had a profound influence on Cézanne in particular. His painting White Frost, painted in the countryside around Pontoise, northwest of Paris, demonstrates the artist's mastery of atmospheric effects: here, a winter morning, where the cold has hardened the earth, covering it with a veil of frost.
Camille Pissarro, the oldest and most faithful of the Impressionists, was a master of atmospheric effects and a mentor to his peers, notably influencing the movement through his devotion to plein air painting.
Berthe Morisot was one of the few women in the Impressionist movement; she was also the first to take part in its exhibitions. Although she came from an upper-class background, Morisot managed to establish herself as a female artist within an avant-garde group, where she confidently exhibited remarkable scenes of modern life. These were sometimes severely criticized, as being too hastily painted, or as reflecting a sensitivity then considered, not without contempt, as "feminine". Her painting Le Berceau depicts her sister Edma – herself a gifted artist, having given up painting after her marriage – watching over her daughter Blanche, her features barely sketched, glimpsed behind a light veil, with tenderness and perhaps melancholy.
One of the few women in the Impressionist movement, Berthe Morisot depicted modern life with remarkable sensitivity, often facing criticism for her style being deemed "feminine."

Credits

Producers

A co-production by Excurio, GEDEON Experiences and the Musée d’Orsay Based on an original idea and new historical reconstructions by GEDEON Experiences

Authors
Emmanuelle PITON
Pierre GABLE

Excurio Producers
Emmanuel GUERRIERO
Fabien BARATI
Catherine SEYS

Creative Director
Pierre GABLE

GEDEON Experiences Producers
Stephane MILLIERE
Agnes GARAUDEL

Scientific direction
Sylvie PATRY
Anne ROBBINS

Composer
 Vincent JACQ

Full price
Adults
32 € / pers.
Reduced price
PMR, Job seekers, -18 years old, students
25 € / pers.
Group rate
From 4 people
25 € / pers.
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Conditions

Minimum age of 8 years
No heart problems, epilepsy or wearing a pacemaker

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