EXHIBITION ‘THE BEAUTIFUL GESTURE’ – MUSEUM OF NORMAND TRADITIONS AND ARTS – MARTAINVILLE CASTLE – Martainville-Épreville – Seine-Maritime – Normandy – France

• Saturday, April 26 to Sunday, September 28, 2025

• Opening on Friday, April 25 from 6 pm

From April 26, 2025 to September 28, 2025, the Museum of Norman Arts and Traditions presents the exhibition ‘The beautiful gesture’. An invitation to rediscover the historic collections of the museum through the prism of contemporary crafts.

Fifteen artists and craftsmen unveil their creations, freely inspired by the museum’s historic collections – some 25,000 objects illustrating the skills of craftsmen from the 14th to the 19th century.

Through their creativity, the transmission of gestures and skills of excellence, these contemporary works of art resonate with those of the museum. In so doing, they establish historical, technical and aesthetic relationships that are in dialogue with each other.

Florence Lemiegre presents five ceramic sculptures specially created for this cultural event at the Museum of Norman Arts and Traditions. Through her works, the artist aims to weave these links between Norman heritage and contemporary creation, exploring the universal themes of nature, transmission and the beauty of the artisanal gesture.

In the heart of the Regency Room of the Martainville castle, the public can discover three ‘Bouquets d’âmes sœurs’ and a pair of ‘Les Chandoiseaux’ candleholders in red Normandy earthenware, created in her Jules Verne workshop in Haute-Normandie. 

‘Bouquets d’âmes sœurs’ and ‘Chandoiseaux’ embody a silent harmony, imbued with poetry and finesse.  These dreamlike sculptural compositions seem animated by a delicate breath of life, thanks to vibrant metal wire pistils. Her works are inspired by the plant and floral decorations in the museum’s collections, such as the bridal bouquets carved into the tops of Norman sideboards and wardrobes, the delicate, enchanting lacework of traditional headdresses, or the tapestries with their exuberant plant ornamentation.

Florence Lemiegre wishes to highlight the harmony between yesterday’s know-how and today’s creations, while celebrating biodiversity and the delicate balance of our environment, which is at the heart of her artistic concerns. This Nature is so wonderfully recounted by the exceptional pieces on display at the Museum. It’s a major and inspiring subject, which can be seen not only in the collections of furniture and objects, clothes and handkerchiefs, but also in the graceful grounds of the Martainville castle.

The artist says she is particularly inspired by the thousand and one marvels in the collections of the Museum of Norman Arts and Traditions, including: baskets and cornucopias, carved foliage and bridal bouquets, tapestries, Norman wedding boxes in polychrome painted wood, chiselled lace headdresses, ceramics and the wild harmony of the “Rediscovered garden”.

Florence Lemiegre also confides that she has always marveled at the sculptural work of the cabinetmakers, containing a multitude of symbolic motifs where the opulence of flowers, fruit, ears of corn and birds in the bride’s central bouquet, compete with sheaves of ears of wheat, garlands of ribbed leaves, decorations of oves, gadroons and acanthus friezes, and so on.

Director, Museum of Norman Arts and Traditions: Caroline Louet

EXHIBITION ‘THE BEAUTIFUL GESTURE’ – MUSEUM OF NORMAND TRADITIONS AND ARTS – MARTAINVILLE CASTLE – Martainville-Épreville

Entry fee included. Access without reservation.
Exhibition open to the public from April 26 to September 28, 2025
Opening hours
10:00 am – 12:30 pm and 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Sunday 2:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Château de Martainville
Rte du Château, 76116 Martainville-Épreville
Seine-Maritime, Normandy