Such sweet melancholy, family portraits in the Romantic period

This summer, travel to the heart of Romanticism and its family portraits in the flats of the Counts of Sarcus!

The exhibition "Une si douce mélancolie" (Such sweet melancholy) invites you to enter into the intimacy of a family, through a selection of portraits set amidst contemporary objects, medals, books, crockery and furniture, creating an immersion in time at the heart of the gentle melancholy that marked the movement known as Romanticism.The works on display belong to the Château de Bussy-Rabutin and to private collectors and lenders with a passion for the period; the portraits come largely from the collections of the abbey castle of Moutiers Saint Jean. They all work together to recreate an aristocratic interior born of the grammar of Restoration styles.

As the wars and their many victims came to an end, and the tuberculosis epidemic developed, young people became melancholy, whether they suffered or chose it. The 19^th century saw the development of an immoderate taste for this genre. In the case of men , conformism, strict dress, seriousness and patriarchal authority were the main psycho-sociological characteristics. For women, painters allowed themselves grace, colour and always a gentle expression.

For a painter, a portrait is not trivial: it requires posing sessions of varying lengths in the company of the model or models. It is therefore always the fruit of a privileged exchange between the artist and his client. It captures a moment in life , and is always imbued with astrong emotional charge: without exception, all his portraits are born of the desire to leave a trace of oneself to one's loved ones. You put on your best clothes, and work with the painter to choose an appropriate setting in which to pose.

These works give visitors an intimate glimpse of everyday life in the homes of the time, highlighting family ties and the way people dressed .

These paintings from the Romantic period come into their own when they are set in a setting that is close to, or suggests, the one they were familiar with. Mysterious correspondences emerge between the painted works that adorn the walls, the display cases, the furniture and the objects that adorn everyday life. This is why we have chosen to present the exhibition on the first floor of theSarcus wing, the family who bought the château in the early 19^th century, and whose flats have recently been renovated and opened to visitors.

The monument would like to thank all the lenders and collectors for their contributions to this exhibition:

• The abbey castle of Moutiers Saint Jean
• Mr Pierre Muller and Mr Denis Quenot
• Mrs Leyla Ahi
• Mrs Elena Meunier
• Mrs Emmanuelle Quantin
• Mrs Jacqueline Queneau
• Mr Romain Chodkowsky
• Mr Jean-François Martin, Accents Baroques
• Mrs Corinne Bernizet Seranno, Baucis et Philémon
• Mrs Nathalie Boilletot
• Nicole Janin Daviet
• Ms Claire Verger
• Mr Tanguy Michel