Musée Jean-Jacques Henner

Kate and Carter took a quick trip to Strasbourg in Alsace in eastern France right after Christmas. They went to Strasbourg's famous Christmas Market, which has been going on since 1570. Alsace is close to Germany and feels very different from Paris. Carter enjoyed a big helping of sauerkraut and sausage and ham.

Carter and his Choucroute

Kate and Carter in Strasbourg

Strasbourg has a beautiful cathedral made of reddish-brown sandstone. The Marché de Noel was in the square in front of the cathedral.

Strasbourg Cathedral

While they were there, they discovered the Alsatian artist Jean-Jaques Henner. In 1871, Alsace and part of Lorraine were annexed to Germany after France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian war. This was a huge blow to France and the country was in mourning. Alsace and Lorrain were known as the Provinces Perdu or Lost Provinces. The allegorical statue of Strasbourg in Place de la Concorde was draped in black in mourning. Many refugees from Alsace made their way to Paris, including Henner, and they kept up the fight to reclaim Alsace. Henner kept his strong ties to Alsace and would return for a visit every year.

Kate discovered there was a Henner museum in Paris so we decided to visit. 

Henner is known for his portraits of Alsatian women and their traditional large knot caps. This woman and her headdress became a symbol of the quest to reclaim Alsace.

"Alsace. She waits"
by Jean-Jacques Henner

"Always in France"
by Jean Benner

The museum was in the studio home of another artist, Guillaume Dubufe, who bought the mansion in 1878. Henner's niece bought it in 1921 to create the Musée Henner. It was on several floors of the building. We kept climbing up and up.

Balcony View

Alsatian with the blue knot
by Henner

"Alsace Waits" Poster

On the top floor was a case that contained Henner's artist palette and brushes. The room was full of his sketches and studies.

Henner's Palette and tools

Kate on the Balcony

The happy ending to the story is that Alsace was returned to France in 1919 at the end of World War I after being lost for over 47 years. However, Henner died in 1905 and never saw his beloved province returned to France.