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novembre 22, 2017 - Leopold Museum

The dark romanticist: Victor Hugo at the Leopold Museum

Comunicato Stampa disponibile solo in lingua originale. 

First presentation of the famous French writer’s graphic oeuvre in a #vienna museum

The #leopoldmuseum is dedicating the first comprehensive exhibition in Austria to the pictorial oeuvre of the eminent writer #victorhugo (Besançon1802–1885 Paris). A protagonist of French Romanticism and extraordinary homo politicus, Hugo was an important voice within the social fabric of France. Initially a conservative royalist and later a republican, Hugo remained an ardent European and a fervent opponent of the death penalty all his life. His opposition to the regime of the self-proclaimed Emperor Napoleon III led to his exile which lasted almost 20 years. From 1851 Hugo lived with his family as well as his lover and muse Juliette Drouet on the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey. When he returned to France in 1870, #victorhugo was given a celebratory reception by the #people of Paris. From 1881, while the artist was still alive, his birthday marked a republican state celebration.

The exhibition initiated by the Leopold Museum’s Director #hanspeterwipplinger affords visitors the opportunity to encounter an extraordinary artist whose world was shaped by nostalgia and progress in equal measure. The exquisite loans hail from the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Maisons de #victorhugo in Paris as well as from private collections, including the Munich Sammlung Klüser, among others.

Hans-Peter Wipplinger: “We are delighted to be able to present the first monographic exhibition of Victor Hugo’s oeuvre in a #vienna museum. Featuring some 60 eminent exhibits, the presentation at the Leopold Museum’s new Graphic Cabinet unites versatile human depictions, fantastical metamorphoses of buildings, rare lace imprints, as well as a whole range of various degrees of abstraction in the work of this exceptional artist.”

Hugo’s seminal novels, such as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831) and Les Misérables (1862) captivate a worldwide readership to this day, with screen adaptations and musicals having made these works accessible to a wide audience.The fact that #victorhugo, who saw himself exclusively as an author, was also a passionate draftsman and painter is a surprising aspect of his oeuvre.Along with watercolors, the exhibition features select photographs from Hugo’s estate and additionally includes works by the French writer George Sand and the English painter of light William Turner.

Exhibition curator #ivanristic:“While William Turner made the material world appear as a concentration of light particles, Hugo conducted some of his painting experiments in almost complete darkness.” In his novel The Toilers of the Seathe author emphatically described the power of darkness: “The darkness of night is vertiginous. Those who plunge into it become submerged in it and struggle to survive. No fatigue is comparable to this study of the shadows. It is the study of an obliteration.”

More information on the press release