Over time, some of the paintings depicting Étretat have acquired an iconic status and become part of the collective imaginary. The museum, in partnership with the Städel Museum in Frankfurt, will present an exhibition devoted to representations of Étretat, based on four major works held in the collections of the two institutions, all of which were painted in Étretat: two Waves by Gustave Courbet (1869-1870), and two paintings by Claude Monet, The Luncheon (1868-1869) and Rough sea, Etretat (1883). These works testify of the central role played by this village, located on the Normandy coast, in the development of new pictorial languages over the course of the 19th century. Through a selection of paintings, drawings, photographs and archives, the exhibition traces the story of the discovery of Étretat by artists, painters and writers alike, and highlights its construction as a mythical landscape, from Eugène Isabey to Henri Matisse. 

The exhibition is organised by the museum of Fine Arts of Lyon in association with the Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main.