Be moved and transported by a masterpiece, reflect on the world around us, rethink our relationship with others and with nature. Throughout France, major museums display the works of international artists. From Claude Monet to Pierre Bonnard and Vincent Van Gogh, not forgetting André Masson, enjoy our selection of the best exhibitions.
"From Vermeer to Van Gogh, the Dutch masters" at the Bassins des Lumières in Bordeaux
*From 18 October to 31 December 2024
This autumn, the Bassins des Lumières in Bordeaux are awakening the childlike spirit in all of us with a new immersive exhibition revisiting Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's work The Little Prince. An imaginary and poetic journey in anticipation of the festive season.
*From 16 February 2024 to 5 January 2025
Throughout 2024, the long programme of the Bassins des Lumières will offer visitors the chance to experience the genius of the Dutch masters of painting through digital creation, a true immersion in nature and the subjects that inspired them. From Vermeer to Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Hendrick Avercamp and Jan Steen, the exhibition immerses visitors in a fascinating world of colour and chiaroscuro. Painting light and its atmosphere is the leitmotif of this former naval base in Bordeaux, now transformed into a digital art centre. Direct or subdued, cold or sunny, it reveals the facades, invites introspection or contemplation - and it's magical!
A second immersive exhibition takes visitors into the abstract world of Piet Mondrian, whose colourful grids have inspired many artists.
"Achilles and the Trojan War" at the Romanité Museum in Nîmes
*From 26 April 2024 to 5 January 2025
Do you know the story of Achilles, the hero of the Trojan War? In 2024, the Musée de la Romanité in Nîmes will retrace the story of this great figure from Greek mythology, from his birth to his death, in an immersive exhibition. This is an opportunity to discover the museum's collection, including an impressive 30 m² mosaic, which will be on show to the public for the first time since its restoration in 2010.
"The dawn of the American century, 1919-1944" at the Caen Memorial
From 8 May 2024 to 5 January 2025
Who were the soldiers on D-Day? What kind of society did they grow up in? From jazz clubs to prohibition, from the Great Depression of 1929 to the New Deal, from Charlie Chaplin to California surf culture, from New York skyscrapers to the motor car... To mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings and the Battle of Normandy, the Caen Memorial takes visitors back to inter-war America, a time of power, excess and racial tension.
‘Les Voix des fleuves, Crossing the water’ - Lyon Biennial of Contemporary Art
Musée d'Art Contemporain de Lyon, Cité Internationale, Quai Charles de Gaulle, Lyon, France
From 21 September 2024 to 5 January 2025
It's one of the most eagerly awaited cultural events. The Lyon Biennial of Contemporary Art is back in 2024. For almost 4 months, a number of exhibitions and artistic installations will take over the Musée d'Art Contemporain de Lyon, the garden of the Musée des Beaux-Arts and new venues such as the Grandes Locos (former SNCF workshops) and the Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie. At the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers, some sixty artists will be exploring the links between human beings and their environment.
Read more: - Exhibitions not to be missed in Paris in 2024 - Major cultural events not to be missed in France
‘Exiles, Artists‘ Views’ at the Louvre-Lens Museum
Musée du Louvre-Lens, Rue Paul Bert, Lens, France
From 25 September 2024 to 20 January 2025
From Homer to Marc Chagall, via Jacques-Louis David, Victor Hugo and Gustave Courbet, the question of exile - in all its forms - has inspired artists from the earliest days of art history right up to the present day. Through 200 works, including paintings, sculptures, photographs and literary works, this autumn's exhibition at the Musée du Louvre-Lens explores the close links between the various stages of exile (departure, uprooting, displacement, welcoming, etc.) and artistic creation, including contemporary art.
Stylish mining area!
Northern France
‘To see, close your eyes’ at the Centre de création contemporaine Olivier Debré in Tours
Centre de Création Contemporaine Olivier Debré (CCC OD), Jardin François 1er, Tours, France
From 4 October 2024 to 9 March 2025
This autumn, the Centre de création contemporaine Olivier Debré invites visitors to immerse themselves in the world of Ana Vidigal, a leading figure in contemporary Portuguese painting. Recent and previously unpublished works reveal the artist's favourite themes: her own childhood, the recent history of Portugal and its democratic aspirations, individual and collective memory...
Visit the Centre de création contemporaine Olivier Debré in Tours, in the Loire Valley.
‘Experience Raphael’ at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille
From 18 October 2024 to 17 February 2025
This autumn, the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille is offering an exhibition enhanced by digital devices, rediscovering 40 drawings by the painter Raphael. It's a chance to immerse yourself in the work of the genius of the Italian Renaissance. Digital devices allow visitors to admire the monumental frescoes in the Signatura Chamber in the Vatican Palace.
‘Parade, une scène française’ at MO.CO in Montpellier
MO.CO. Panacée, Rue de l'École de Pharmacie, Montpellier, France
From 26 October 2024 to 12 January 2025
The Laurent Dumas Collection comes to MO.CO this autumn. Abdel Abdessemed, Nina Childress, Claire Tabouret... Many emblematic contemporary artists of the French scene supported by the patron and director of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris Laurent Dumas are to be discovered. The exhibition illustrates the diversity and vitality of the French art scene over the last 30 years, particularly in terms of pictorial and plastic practices.
Occitanie
‘Senn, collectors and patrons’ at the André Malraux Museum of Modern Art in Le Havre
musée d'art moderne André Malraux, Boulevard Clemenceau, Le Havre, France
From 16 November 2024 to 16 February 2025
Courbet, Delacroix, Monet, Pissarro, Degas, Cross... the greatest Impressionist painters are in the limelight this autumn at the André Malraux Museum of Modern Art in Le Havre. Over 200 works bequeathed just 20 years ago by Hélène Senn-Foulds, granddaughter of the famous art patron Olivier Senn, are on show.
Visit the André Malraux Museum of Modern Art in Le Havre, Normandy
By The editor
The editorial staff of France.fr follows the trends and news of destinations to bring you stories from France that reveal its innovations and traditions that make you long to (re) discover its territories.
