Louis Janmot: Le Poème de l’âme

Le Poème de l'âme, L’idéal, Louis Janmot, c.1850 - 1854, Lyon, Musée des Beaux-Arts. © Lyon, Musée des Beaux-Arts / Alain Basset.

Started in Rome in 1835 and continued until 1881, The Poem of the Soul is the greatest work of the artist Louis Janmot (1814-1892). It illustrates in 34 compositions accompanied by a lengthy poem, the journey of a soul on Earth. His work echoes that of several other artists such as William Blake, Philipp Otto Runge or Francisco de Goya before him, his contemporaries the Pre-Raphaelites, or even , later, the symbolists, in particular Odilon Redon who he was in contact with. This new exhibition at the Musée d’Orsay, places The Poem of the Soul and its author at the crossroads of literary, religious and philosophical as well as artistic references, influences and currents.

The exhibition will present The Poem of the Soul in its entirety. The first cycle is permanently exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon, but the second, more fragile, is very rarely shown. Like the protagonists of The Poem of the Soul , the public will explore the mysteries hidden in these images, step by step. The exhibition will allow the two modes of expression, visual and textual, to coexist. With the visitors listening to the poem whilst contemplating the paintings.

This exhibition was organised by the Public Establishment of the Orsay and Orangerie Museums of Paris in partnership with the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon.

The exhibition is running from 12 September 2023 to 7 January 2024, with tickets available here.