L’Isle-Adam, France —L’Isle-Adam is a delightful town in the greater Paris region just 20 miles (32 km) north of Paris nestled on the Left Bank of the picturesque and mighty Oise River. The greenery-filled town is surrounded by a forest and vast woodlands. One of its main cultural attractions is a splendidly appointed museum, Le musée d’art et d’histoire Louis-Senlecq, featuring a fine art collection and retracing the history of the town and its inhabitants. For the fifth time, the museum is hosting a special exhibition showcasing certain aspects of its permanent collections. The current show, entitled Regards sur les Collections (A Look at the Collections), focuses in on Louis-Marie Lemaire and Henri Vergé- Sarrat whose works span the 19th and 20th centuries as well as taking a look at the representations of children and animals in the museum’s collections. The exhibition brings together some 70 works of art including paintings,drawings, sculptures and prints. 

A flurry of flowers marks the works of Louis-Marie Lemaire (1824-1910), who drew flowers so well that he first worked painting floral wall papers which were highly successful in 19th century Paris. He turned to painting full-time in 1861 and in the summers worked from a studio in the Oise River Valley overlooking L’Isle-Adam. The works on display include a stunning Bouquet of Poppies in an Earthenware Vase, a delicate pastel that was restored in 2020. Self-taught painter, engraver and watercolorist Henri Vergé-Sarrat (1880-1966), travelled throughout France but also to Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Spain accompanied by his wife who was also an artist. His works are conserved in museums throughout France, but, too, in Egypt and the United States notably in the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Art Institue of Chicago. A selection of his etchings of Paris is on display in the show, part of an ensemble that his great-niece donated to the town of L’Isle-Adam in 2015.

Meanwhile works representing children and animals are also featured in the exhibition. The museum also delves into the history of L’Isle-Adam in the 18th century when the Conti princes lived there and the manufacture of terra cotta in the town was in operation. A town which is worth a visit in and of itself. Temporary exhibition until March 17th. SNCF trains from the Gare du Nord in Paris take you right into town. ©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette. 31 Grande Rue, 95290 L’Isle-Adam.  Tel: +33 (0)1 74 56 11 23. https://ville-isle-adam.fr/musee