Louis Janmot. The Poem of the Soul

Comprising two cycles, one with 18 paintings and the other with 16 large drawings, it was described by Henri Focillon, director of the Museum of Fine Arts in Lyon from 1913 to 1924, as “the most remarkable, coherent, and strange ensemble of romantic spiritualism.”

Janmot, a painter of the soul, was a highly unique artist for his time. However, his work resonates with that of other artists such as William Blake, Philipp Otto Runge, and Francisco de Goya before him, as well as his contemporaries, the Pre-Raphaelites, and later, the Symbolists, particularly Odilon Redon, who had contact with him. This exhibition situates “The Poem of the Soul” and its creator at the intersection of literary, religious, philosophical, and artistic references, influences, and movements.

The first cycle, completed in 1854, narrates the initial years in Heaven and on Earth of a soul, symbolized by a young boy and a young girl. The stages and setbacks of their journey, from the boy’s birth to the premature death of the young woman, are depicted. These paintings drew the attention of Théophile Gautier and Baudelaire when exhibited at the Universal Exposition of 1855, thanks to the intervention of Delacroix. Completed in 1881, the second cycle tells how the boy, now alone, confronts the temptations and tragedies of the human soul. A poem of 2814 verses, written by Janmot and titled “The Soul,” accompanies the works. It enhances their significance and is inseparable from them. The whole constitutes a hybrid work, both literary and pictorial, inviting contemplation, listening, and wandering.

The exhibition will reveal “The Poem of the Soul” in its entirety. While the first cycle is on display in the permanent collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Lyon, the second, more delicate cycle is rarely shown. Like the protagonists of “The Poem of the Soul,” visitors will explore the mysteries contained in these images step by step, embarking on an initiatory journey through the works. The exhibition will coexist both visual and textual modes of expression so that visitors can hear the poem while contemplating the paintings.

This exhibition is organized by the Public Establishment of the Museums of Orsay and Orangerie in Paris, in scientific collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts in Lyon, which is exceptionally lending some works.

Curators

Stéphane Paccoud, chief curator of 19th century paintings and sculptures at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Lyon
Servane Dargnies-de Vitry, curator of paintings at the Musée d’Orsay