Imaginer la nuit: 70 Works Illuminate Darkness at Musée Anne-de-Beaujeu

The Musée Anne-de-Beaujeu in Moulins, France, presents 'Imaginer la nuit', an exhibition exploring the many faces of night in art from the late 18th to early 20th century. Featuring 70 works, the show traces a journey from dusk to dawn, transforming visitors into sleepwalkers. Key highlights include Jean-Léon Gérôme's 'Allégorie de la nuit', a dreamlike personification of Night scattering poppy flowers, echoing his 'La Vérité sortant du puits' held in the museum's collection. Georges-Antoine Rochegrosse's 'L'Appel' (1923) depicts a mystical apparition of Christ to a grieving old man, playing on contrasts between a green lamp and supernatural light. Jean-Paul Laurens' 'Lady Macbeth' (1888) captures a tense moment before the murder of King Duncan, with Lady Macbeth holding her breath behind a tapestry, dressed in fantastical Merovingian-inspired costume. Charles Guilloux's 'Lever de lune sur un canal' shows the artist's fascination with twilight and reflections, influenced by Japanese prints and post-impressionism. Eugène Devéria's 'Ronde du pendu' plunges viewers into a morbid, fantastic world of specters circling a hanged man, exemplifying dark Romanticism. The exhibition concludes with intimate scenes of urban nightlife, including Johann Mengels Culverhouse's 'Joueurs d'échecs / effets de lumière', a small candlelit domestic scene reminiscent of Georges de La Tour. The show runs until September 20 at the museum located at Place du colonel Laussedat, 03000 Moulins.