Exceptional exhibition “Le Citron” by Manet at Blois

Every year, the Musée d'Orsayselects 100 works from its collections to display throughout France, highlighting a major contemporary theme. In 2025, climate is in the spotlight: a dialogue between art and science is proposed in 31 museums, accompanied by a reference book to explore the major ecological issues of our time.

In Blois, Manet's “Le Citron” (The Lemon) adds acidity to the Royal Castle, linking the building to its vanished gardens.

Perceived as a marvel by kings, the lemon bears witness to current thinking already underway in the Renaissance: how to preserve this bright yellow fruit in a climate that is not its own? Cultivated in France as early as the 15th century, it adorned the flowerbeds and first gardens of the Loire Valley! The orangery at the Royal Castle of Blois is one of the first buildings of its kind in France, probably designed by Pacello da Mercogliano, a Neapolitan landscape gardener who worked in France for Charles VIII and Louis XII.

Presented as a jewel in the Studiolo, “Le Citron” echoes other artistic or natural objects that kings kept in their cabinets of curiosities. The latter, fitted out by Francis Ist around 1520 in Italian style, has a window opening onto the orangery and remains the only French Renaissance royal cabinet preserved to this day.

• "Visite pressée" - short guided tour every Sunday from April 6 to July 27 at 5:30 p.m.

30 mins / no extra charge / only in French / booking required, call (00) 332 54 90 33 33

© Photo : Musée d'Orsay, Dist. GrandPalaisRmn Patrice Schmidt