EXHIBITION OVERVIEW

Held in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the French poet’s birth (2002) with the full cooperation of France’s Victor Hugo House of Literature, the special exhibition, “Victor Hugo and the Romanticists,” features some 350 rare original texts and artifacts, five of which are national treasures of France, including printers’ proofs for Les Misèrables, La Légende des Siècles and Les Contemplations. Organized in two main sections, the exhibition illustrates Hugo’s life in the context of the Romantic movement and its literary and artistic milieu, ranging from photographs and costumes to ceramics and musical instruments. Also on display are memorabilia of two of Hugo’s peers, Alexandre Dumas Sr. and French composer Hector Berlioz, as well as paintings by Delacroix, a fellow Romanticist whose work, The Virgin of the Harvest, was shown in Japan for the first time.