APPLES

From Forbidden Fruit to Regional Emblem

The apple, a universal and familiar fruit, spans centuries and civilizations. In Normandy, it embodies a cultural, agricultural, and artistic heritage of exceptional richness.

The 11th century marks the beginning of apple cultivation and its domestication in Normandy. A privileged land for planting apple trees, the region has established itself over the centuries as the orchard of France. This sustainable development is characterized by the diversification of varieties and the rise of a structured and perfected cider production. Rustic, nourishing, and popular, the apple is rooted in Normandy's customs and landscapes and remains a living heritage to preserve. With the support of regional institutions and through commissions to artists, it has become an icon that profoundly marks Norman identity.

The apple also occupies an important place in the collective imagination. Highly metaphorical, it nourishes foundational narratives, from the mythological garden of the Hesperides to the biblical Eden. In a certain ambivalence, it is a fruit of discord, temptation, or offering, and it symbolically navigates between good and evil.

This exhibition at the Museum of Art and History of Lisieux proposes an exploration of the cultural history of the apple from two complementary angles: that of artistic tradition and the permanence of this motif throughout the history of art, and that of agricultural tradition and millennia-old know-how which has become a regional emblem and vector of Normandy's values.

The ambition of this project is to showcase the collections of the three museums managed by the Lisieux Normandy Agglomeration Community, while also drawing on loans from regional, national, and international institutions.

The exhibition serves as an entry point for a broader approach to the region, particularly by highlighting the conservatory orchard of the Château-Musée de Saint-Germain-de-Livet through its opening to visitors. It also resonates with the Museum of the Old Manor of Orbec, thanks to the presentation of advertising posters on this same theme.

General Curatorship: Sophie Anfray, Director of the Museum Department

Practical Information: 

For all audiences

Entrance fee: 3€ | free for those under 26 years old