Jean-Jacques Rousseau is a universal icon: an illustrious representative of the Enlightenment, his writings and his appearance are known to all. But do we really know what he looked like?
Jean-Jacques Rousseau has been portrayed by renowned artists. His image spread through great models, reflecting the key moments of his history: famous and admired philosopher, exiled and persecuted author, then divinized and adulated personality.
The iconography of Jean-Jacques Rousseau is rich in meaning and a source of great artistic and literary production. It is used in every home, from the most fortunate to the most modest, and in every medium (paintings, sculptures, engravings, clocks, medallions, plates, etc.). This is what we could call the “Rousseaumania” that continues to this day.
This exhibition reveals a man with many faces and presents works never before taken out of the reserves, as well as loans from the Domaine de Chaalis – Institut de France.
The exhibition continues in the Museum’s gardens: unusual anecdotes tell the underside of the philosopher’s portraits.