4 museomag   04 ‘ 2015 
The MNHA offers each month a guided tour dedicated 
to a single artwork. These tours are now offered in 
four different languages (French, German, English and 
Portuguese) and take place on Tuesdays at lunchtime, 
and on Thursdays in the evening, taking advantage of 
the Museum’s longer opening hours on that day (see 
below). 
These visits are an opportunity to get to know some of 
our artworks in more detail and further depth. Looking 
at and discussing one single artwork over a longer time 
than during a usual museum visit, can give us surprising 
insights. In spite of concentrating on a single work, 
doing it collectively also broadens our horizons as we 
try to go beyond the artwork per se and the guide’s 
mediation. We may begin by introducing the work of 
art, conveying its historical context, proposing a visual 
analysis and possible meanings. But the best part of it is 
the fact that it is not a lecture in front of an artwork, but 
a gathering of different gazes, thoughts and feelings 
around it. The Renc’Art, short for Rencontres d’Art is an 
opportunity for that extended and collective gaze. 
RENC’ART CAN BECOME 
A LIVELY CONVERSATION 
No one person looks at an artwork in the same way. 
No one person sees everything there is to see. There 
is always a detail, an angle that eludes us, and which is 
spotted by someone else. We are attracted, surprised 
or moved by different things in an artwork. Historical 
context, knowledge of the artistic currents around the 
artwork, and the social environment it was created in 
are important, and we, the mediators, prepare for that 
part of Renc’Art.  But an equally important part of these 
encounters are the comments and suggestions from 
our guests. Once we have established a background 
against which we can make a visual analysis of the 
artwork, Renc’Art can become a lively conversation. 
When we met around the MNHA’s Picasso last April, no 
stone or plant was left unturned on the terrace, garden 
and view of the artist’s house, Villa California in Cannes. 
There may be paintings you might normally walk past, 
without paying attention that gain new meaning once 
invited to look more closely, or differently. 
RENC’ART –   
ARTWORK OF THE MONTH 
A GAZING AND THINKING COMMUNITY 
No one person looks at an artwork in the same way. No one person sees everything there is to see... 
Immortalizing a masterpiece of Flemish baroque painting. 
© 
éric chenal