Tour of “Guillaume Lethière” and Museum Masterpieces

Featuring major paintings, including several on loan from private collections, the exhibition 'Guillaume Lethière' showcases the oeuvre of this 19th-century French-Guadeloupean artist who integrated Classical and Romantic influences into his work. The exhibition recontextualizes Lethiere’s work by exploring themes of identity, migration, and cultural hybridity.

November 12, 2024

Members of American Friends of the Louvre convened over lunch at the iconic Cafe Marly before attending a special preview viewing of Guillaume Lethière and touring masterpieces from the Museums collection all while it was closed to the public, a rare opportunity.

Following its celebrated opening at The Clark Art Institute earlier this year, Guillaume Lethière is travelling to Paris where the exhibition will be exhibited at the Louvre with several additional works that were unable to travel to America. Born in Guadeloupe, Guillaume Guillon-Lethière (1760–1832) was one of the most fascinating artists and personalities of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and a key figure in the French Neoclassical movement. Born the son of a white plantation owner and French government official and a mixed-race enslaved woman, Lethière traveled to France, survived the French Revolution, and ascended to the highest levels of artistic recognition in his time despite the adversity he faced. A favorite artist of Napoleon’s brother, Lucien Bonaparte, he served as director of the Académie de France in Rome from 1807 to 1816, as a member of the Institut de France beginning in 1818, and as a professor at the École des Beaux-Arts beginning in 1819. This exhibition is the first major museum presentation on Lethière’s remarkable life and achievements.