The Creuse Valley Museum in Eguzon-Chantôme (Centre-Val de Loire) created an exhibition on the painter and traveller Eugène Alluaud, as part of the 2016 Itinérances artistiques (Artistic Wanderings) in the inter-regional tourist destination known as the Valley of the Painters. An exhibition catalogue and a monograph on Alluaud were created especially for the exhibition.
A collective painting exhibition to promote the Creuse Valley
- 27 November 2020
The main aim of this exhibition was to create an impact throughout the valley area. Visitor participation was good, with at least 70 % of the visitors moving between the various museums. Moreover, since this exhibition, many loyal visitors have discovered our museum and now come back for each temporary exhibition.
From May to September 2016, the Château d’Ars Museum in La Châtre, the Limoges Fine Arts Museum, the Creuse Valley Museum in Eguzon-Chantôme and the Guéret Museum of Art and Archaeology organised an exhibition tour between Berry and Limousin, as part of the Itinérances artistiques.
The exhibition was associated with an inter-regional development policy for the ‘Valley of the Painters between Berry and Limousin’, coordinated by the Creuse Departmental Council. Since the 19th century, this area has been a constant centre of artistic creation, particularly Impressionist painting.
An exhibition tour
Each of the four museums looked at the life of one of these painters, who chose the Creuse Valley as a key theme in their art: Allan Österlind (1855–1938), Charles Bichet (1863–1929), Eugène Alluaud (1866–1947), and Alfred Smith (1854–1936). Over 250 works and documents were exhibited, many of which were previously unseen. They came from museums in France and other countries, and from numerous private collections.
The exhibition used a monographic approach to present these painters and their attachment to the valley. It also chronicled their journeys through France or Europe via various media, including painting, photography, and the graphic and decorative arts.
The touring was a way of exploring these artists’ journeys. This event, which took place in the museums around the valley, offered an opportunity to move between the rooms of these institutions, then to follow in the footsteps of the painters by walking along the banks in Limousin and Berry to see the original landscapes. There was a whole cultural season surrounding this exhibition, involving various locations: studios, galleries, trails, exhibition halls, parks and gardens, lodges, artists’ house, interpretation centres, etc.
A little-known artist
The exhibition on Eugène Alluaud at the Creuse Valley Museum took place from 28 May to 25 September 2016. This first retrospective of the artist presented numerous previously unseen works in the domains of painting, the graphic arts, photography and the decorative arts. It looked back at the career of a versatile artist who worked with paint, porcelain and the decorative arts, with a rare display of Limoges porcelain pieces in the Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles.
Eugène Alluaud’s works are still little-known, but they are surprising in their expressive richness and were always in keeping with the artistic currents present in the Creuse Valley at the start of the 19th century.
Based in Crozant from 1891, Eugène Alluaud, who was close to the poet Maurice Rollinat (1846–1903) and to the painter Armand Guillaumin (1841–1927), became a true ambassador for the landscapes of the Creuse Valley. Portraying these places in his paintings, he helped both his painter and photographer friends and the general public discover them through his personal involvement in promoting tourism in the valley. From 1913, he was one of the first enthusiasts and promoters of camping among nature in Creuse.
A key location for Impressionist painting
The collective exhibition in four locations worked well. At least 70 % of the visitors moved between the museums, allowing them to discover the Valley of the Painters. The exhibition catalogue sold so well that a reprint was required.
Moreover, attention from the national press boosted the area’s reputation as a key location for Impressionist painting. A special issue of the magazine Connaissance des arts was devoted to the Valley of the Painters. In 2019, there was an exhibition at the Atelier Grognard, in Rueil-Malmaison, entitled ‘Painting in the Creuse Valley’. Thus, the valley has achieved real national recognition.
Total investment and European funding
Total investment for the ‘Eugène Alluaud, from Limoges to Crozant: Exploring the sites of the Valley and inviting his artist friends’ project was EUR 37 714; the contribution of the European Regional Development Fund amounted to EUR 7 937 under the ‘ERDF Loire Interregional Operational Programme’ cooperation programme for the 2014–2020 programming period. The investment falls under the ‘Jobs, Growth and Investment’ priority.