Pont

The Pont-Aven Museum presents, from February 7 to May 31, 2026, the exhibition “Jean Painlevé, les pieds dans l’eau,” conceived and organized by the Jeu de Paume in Paris, in collaboration with the Pont-Aven Museum. It is dedicated to Jean Painlevé (1902-1989), referred to as a “pioneer filmmaker in the field of scientific popularization,” who gained great recognition in the areas of marine biology and cinematographic techniques.

The museum specifies that this large-scale exhibition brings together about thirty black and white or color, silent and sound films, as well as photographs and period documents. It covers a period of over 50 years of work and situates the filmmaker’s work “in the historical and scientific context of its realization.”

The Heart of the Work: Brittany

The choice of Pont-Aven is not without significance. Sophie Kervran, director of the museums of Concarneau Cornouaille Agglomeration and chief curator of the Pont-Aven Museum, points out that “Brittany played an essential role in Jean Painlevé’s journey.” The museum highlights that he set up in Port-Blanc, in the family home of Geneviève Hamon, “his first improvised film studio,” where he shot his first ten films dedicated to marine life.

The coastline emerges as his primary observation ground. The museum describes it as a “family and popular playground” that offers him “his first field of exploration.” His films showcase “crabs, shrimps, starfish, sea urchins, and hermit crabs,” inhabitants of the “shallow waters of the Breton rocky coast.”

[Context: Jean Painlevé was a French filmmaker known for his pioneering work in scientific documentary films, especially in marine biology.]

[Fact Check: The exhibition mentioned in the article is scheduled to take place from February to May 2026.]

Geneviève Hamon, Jean Painlevé with the Cameflex held by harness designed by Geneviève Hamon, Roscoff, around 1958, vintage gelatin-silver print, Cinematographic Documents/Archives Jean Painlevé

Science, Art, and Freedom

Jean Painlevé’s work is based on a clever blend of science and the seventh art and on “the undeniable poetic dimension of the images.” Close to the avant-garde movements, he never allowed himself to be confined to any organization and never adhered to any movement, preserving a element of originality and freedom in his work.

The museum also recalls that he was involved in the resistance and was an “active member of the World Committee Against War and Fascism,” adding that “in both art and politics, Jean Painlevé remains a maverick.”

Jean Painlevé, Seahorse in algae, around 1934, vintage gelatin-silver print, Cinematographic Documents/Archives Jean Painlevé

Practical Information:

“Jean Painlevé, les pieds dans l’eau,” Pont-Aven Museum, from February 7 to May 31, 2026. Admission: €8 full price, €6 reduced; free for under 18s. Museum open daily from 10 am to 6 pm except Mondays.

Photo credit: Pont-Aven Museum (illustration photo)