To come
Jean Painlevé, feet in the water
Informations sur l’exposition
Current exhibition
From Saturday, February 07, to Sunday, May 31, 2026
Jean Painlevé, feet in the water
An internationally renowned filmmaker, Jean Painlevé (1902–1989) specialised in scientific documentaries and cinematic techniques. Associated with the avant-garde, he used cinema as a tool for exploring and revealing mysterious and unknown aspects of living organisms. In most of his films, the images switch constantly from full-scale observation to microscopic analysis and back again. They are accompanied by an informative and descriptive commentary by Painlevé.
Between the wars, his work was screened outside the scientific domain in avant-garde cinemas and film clubs. Painlevé quickly became well known and his work was featured in the illustrated press of the 1930s, contributing to his notoriety. His Surrealist spirit and non-conformist attitude were undoubtedly the driving force behind his lifelong engagement with documentary cinema. The ease with which he moved between artistic and scientific fields was enhanced by his friendships with such artists as Jacques-André Boiffard, Alexander Calder, Ivan Goll, Fernand Léger, Éli Lotar, Pierre Naville, Pierre Prévert and Jean Vigo.
From the 1950s onwards, Painlevé and Geneviève Hamon, his companion and associate, produced a number of research films while they pursued their personal work, which was enriched by the studies carried out by the zoologists and biologists with whom they worked.
His work is marked by four major distinguishing characteristics: his particular focus on the foreshore; his scientific and pedagogical approach; his links with the Surrealist movement and political activism; and finally, the importance of the film editing and the introduction of rhythm, through the study of movement, an interest in dance and the use of music.
This exhibition places Painlevé’s oeuvre in its historical and scientific context, highlighting the importance of scientific research to his work. A continuing inspiration to contemporary artists, his films have lost none of their creative power, immersing us in a mental space that veers between the familiar and the dreamlike, disrupting our sense of reality.
Exhibition conceived and organised by the Jeu de Paume (Paris) in collaboration with the Musée de Pont-Aven
