Raisons et sentiments
Le XVIIIe siècle dans les collections du Musée

The years between the death of Louis XIV in 1715 and the fall of Charles X in 1830 were crucial for France, a sounding board for Europe in a period of tension leading up to the Revolution of 1789 and then grappling with the consequences of this major event. It was during this time that the foundations of modernity were laid, as society sought to overturn established powers in favor of democracy, advance knowledge, and probe the mysteries of the human soul. Everywhere, men and women engaged in imagining and implementing grand utopias that continue to shape our horizons today.

Reasons and Sentiments took a sweeping journey through this turbulent period. Artists, torn between reason and emotion, played a key role in exploring and taming this new world. Classicism, Rococo, Neoclassicism, and Romanticism succeeded one another at a breathtaking pace, reflecting the aspirations of a curious and inventive society. The exhibition led visitors through this stormy current across Europe: the grandeur of Louis XIV portraiture, nature either idealized or scientifically examined, introspection into the human soul, the reinvention of history painting, the rise of genre painting, costume scenes, the observation of architecture and antique sculpture, the education of princes, Romantic fervor, and miniature portraits. From room to room, modern and contemporary works were placed in dialogue with historical pieces, demonstrating that the spirit of the 18th century endures to this day.

The exhibition drew extensively from the Museum’s collections. It also benefited from loans from private collectors and public institutions, including the Neue Pinakothek in Munich, the Marylebone Cricket Club Museum in London, the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh, the Musée Calvet in Avignon, the Kunstmuseum in Bern, and, in Lausanne, the Musée Historique, the Fondation de l’Hermitage, the Musée de l’Elysée, the Cantonal Museum and Botanical Gardens, and the Cantonal Museum of Geology.