Évreux, the Middle Ages rediscovered

The medieval city studied and fantasized in the 19th century

What if Évreux rediscovered, for the duration of an exhibition, the face of its medieval city that is now almost vanished? Between the Middle Ages and the 19th century, it offers a chance to rediscover the great medieval monuments that shaped the urban landscape, thanks to material remains, surveys and scientific writings, and the artistic representations that we preserve. More broadly, it highlights the enthusiasm for this period, revived in the 19th century by artists, scholars, and collectors.

Organized into three sections, the first part honors the civil and religious buildings constructed in Évreux from the ducal era. Between past and present, visitors dive interactively into the heart of the medieval city. The museum's collection of English alabasters testifies to the artistic and commercial exchanges between England and Normandy in the 15th and 16th centuries.
The journey continues with the rediscovery of the Middle Ages in the 19th century. Fascinated by this era, the art world rediscovers as much as it reinterprets it. Collectors, like Abbé Jouen (1795-1885), a major donor to the museum, gather both authentic pieces and imitations of masterpieces from the past.

Finally, the last section presents the perspective of scholars on the medieval past. Through their writings and research, historians have contributed to retracing the history of Évreux, its monuments, and its figures.

An unprecedented catalog accompanies the exhibition. Numerous innovative mediation proposals, aimed at all audiences, punctuate the journey. A section is particularly dedicated to the construction of the image of the Middle Ages in the collective imagination, between tales, legends, and the figure of the knight.