Seen from behind

The fruit of four years of research, the exhibition Vu[e]s de dos, une figure sans portrait explores an unprecedented subject: the representation of the back in Western art, from the Middle Ages to the present day.

Why choose to depict a back, why turn away from a face, and above all, what is it that this posture seeks to express? These are just some of the questions addressed by the greatest artists, from Tiepolo to Vallotton, Watteau to Toulouse-Lautrec and Dufy, each offering their own vision of this familiar yet enigmatic representation.

In this lecture, Annie Madet-Vache, director of the Musée des Franciscaines and curator of the exhibition, shares the findings of this vast study. She reveals how, over the centuries, the back has evolved from a simple compositional element to become a veritable plastic and symbolic language, reflecting the changing view of the body, identity and the viewer's place in art.