Painting History. A Past in the Present. Guided Tour

18 Place François Sicard, 37000 Tours, France

The exhibition, based on the museum's collections, explores history painting from the 19th century to the early 20th century. Theatrical and grandiloquent works stage grand narratives—from Antiquity to the contemporary era—intended to be moving, engaging, and even memory-makers. In a dense hanging reminiscent of 19th-century Salons, the overwhelming presence of oversized canvases is striking. Once fallen into disuse with the rise of modern currents, history painting was long relegated to reserves. Yet the works presented…