Belle Époque Exhibition

The Villa du Temps retrouvé offers you an immersive experience thanks to a 4D scenography featuring sights, sounds, smells, and interactive objects.

This project was made possible by showcasing more than 350 works and objects of all kinds: Paintings, drawings, furniture, photographs, sculptures, books, authentic clothing, and other various objects from the period borrowed from illustrious cultural institutions and many private collectors.

The greatest names of this golden age – particularly Marcel Proust, Marcel Proust, Louise Abbéma, Sarah Bernhardt, Jacques-Émile Blanche, Rosa Bonheur, Antoine Bourdelle, Claude Debussy, la comtesse Greffulhe, Blanche Hoschédé-Monet, Pierre Loti, Madeleine Lemaire,  Auguste Rodin – accompany you in this enchanting and intimate place.

The selection of artwork make you feel both the origins of the Proustian imagination as well as the culture of the Normandy coast during the Belle Époque: portraits alluding to important social figures in Marcel Proust’s social who stayed in the region. Scenes of beaches, fields, and cities show the social diversity and strong contrasts between the high society and the working-class population.

This season, the exhibition focuses on women artists and on women of influence during the Belle Époque. The exhibition is an opportunity to discover the artistic practice of Rosa Bonheur, Blanche Hoschédé-Monet, Sarah Bernhardt – still too little known as a sculptor – and her close friend Louise Abbéma. The exhibition also explores the world of salonnières such as Madeleine Lemaire, Countess Greffulhe and Winnaretta Singer, enlightened art lovers who fascinated and inspired Marcel Proust and were key figures in the society and artistic circles of the time.

Contemporary art is once again in the spotlight at the Villa du Temps retrouvé, with two works by international artist Anh Duong on show in Cabourg for the first time.