Ludovic Napoléon Lepic: Painter and Archaeologist at Musée d'Archéologie Nationale

The Musée d'Archéologie Nationale, housed in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, presents an exhibition on Ludovic Napoléon Lepic (1839–1889) through March 26, 2018. Lepic, a Parisian from a Bonapartist military family, was a multifaceted figure: soldier, archaeologist, collector, experimental artist, and bon vivant. After divorcing a wealthy noblewoman, he continued designing costumes for the Opera, where his lover performed. He was among the 'correspondents' who enriched the museum's collections, and this exhibition serves as a tribute. The centerpiece is his 1869 oil on panel, 'Megaceros in a Swamp,' depicting a giant Pleistocene deer. Lepic, a hunter, erroneously set the scene with a lake and distant buildings, anachronistic since the species went extinct before human construction. A video reconstructs the deer's antlers (up to 3.5 meters wide), and cases display bone fragments and drawings from Pictet's paleontology atlas, likely inspiration for Lepic's preparatory sketches. Despite his friendships with Degas, Morisot, Monet, Renoir, Cézanne, and Pissarro, Lepic was ostracized by the Impressionists for his traditional style. The exhibition highlights his legacy as a leading French painter of prehistoric subjects, not an Impressionist.