Le Musée de la Vie romantique presents an unexpected selection of 40 art works by thirty contemporary artists on the representation of heart as an expression of the feeling of love, echoing one of the main themes of Romanticism.

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 S aint Phalle, J im 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.

Artists presented: Martine Aballéa, Pilar Albarracín, John M. Armleder, Gilles Barbier, Ronda Bautista, Sophie Calle, Hsia-Fei Chang, Delphine Coindet, Jim Dine, Jacques Halbert, Oda Jaune, Ouka Leele, Philippe Mayaux, Annette Messager, Marc Molk, Mrzyk & Moriceau, Claude Nori, Vincent Olinet, Jorge Orta, Jean-Michel Othoniel, Françoise Pétrovitch, Pierre et Gilles, Sarah Pucci, Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, Niki de Saint Phalle, Ida Tursic et Wilfried Mille, Luise Unger, Winshluss.

Curators:
Gaëlle Rio, Director, musée de la Vie romantique
Maribel Nadal Jové, Guest Curator