Daydreams of solitary walkers - Olivier Bernex and Jean-Jacques Rousseau

On the universal theme of meditative walking, the Château de Voltaire, in collaboration with Les Charmettes, is organising an exhibition of works byOlivier Bernex, a painter of gesture and colour, in resonance with Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Rêveries du promeneur solitaire (Reveries of the Solitary Walker) . For both artist and philosopher, more than 200 years apart, walking is an inexhaustible source of introspection, reflection and creation. The words and ideas of the philosopher touched and inspired the painter. The story of the ten walks in the Rêveries gives rise to a first series of ten large-format paintings.

The exhibition is divided into four sections:

The first section , "Walks", traces the biography of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Olivier Bernex. It looks at the publishing history of the "Reveries of the Solitary Walker", written between 1773 and 1775 but not published posthumously until 1782. Alongside the philosopher's manuscripts are the ten two-by-two metre canvases by Olivier Bernex illustrating each of the ten walks.

The second section, 'On foot', evokes both the pleasure and the necessity of walking. Jean-Jacques Rousseau walked a great deal in his life, covering more than 20,000 kilometres. Firstly, out of financial necessity, as travelling on foot cost nothing and provided an opportunity to take time to reflect. Then for pleasure and the pleasure of thinking. Olivier Bernex also takes daily walks in the mountainous hills in the hinterland of Marseille, where he has lived since 1976. This daily walk is an opportunity to sketch on the spot and take notes on his reflections.

The third section, "In oneself", shows a form of introspection prompted by walking. Freed from the burden of self-justification that contaminated the writing of the Confessions, Rousseau writes solely for the pleasure of recollection and the sense of existence that has always guided him. Olivier Bernex also shows himself unvarnished in his paintings, in his studio cluttered with empty pots.

The fourth section, "And at Charmettes / By Love", evokes the house where Jean-Jacques Rousseau lived with Madame de Warens between 1734 and 1741. The tenth walk of "Les Rêveries" tells of their idyll, the short happiness of his life there, and the gratitude he feels for the woman who took him in and trained him as a young man. In his works, Olivier Bernex associates the poppy with amorous passion and eroticism.

Nicolas Bousquet, Director of Chambéry Museums

Patrick Moquet, lecturer in visual arts at the University of Aix-Marseille

Scientific Committee :

Pascal Bouvier, lecturer in philosophy at the University of Savoie-Mont Blanc.

Michel Guérin, philosopher, Emeritus Professor at the University of Aix-Marseille and Honorary Member of the Institut Universitaire de France.

Mickael Kohlhauer, Professor Emeritus of French and Comparative Literature at the University of Savoie-Mont-Blanc and director of the journal of Maistrian studies

David Le Breton, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Strasbourg and member of the Institut Universitaire de France

Patrick Moquet, lecturer in visual arts at the University of Aix-Marseille