"Trees, said a somewhat misanthropic wise man, console me about men more than animals, which resemble them too closely". Like the rose in the poem by Silesius, they exist 'without a reason'. Silent and defenceless, their beauty gives without asking for anything in return, and besides their shade, their foliage, their flowers and their fruit, they unstintingly dispense the admirable upward thrust that roots them in the earth and carries them towards the light and the sky: an admirable example of spiritual attitude. The most beautiful tribute to trees is to think that they served as a model for the architects of Greek temples and Gothic cathedrals.

Olive and oak bark bears masterworks of engraving. The smooth skin of poplars and eucalyptus trees bears other masterpieces of drawing and colour. We walk by them far too quickly. Through the brief anthology offered by this exhibition I hope to share with walkers in the forest, with visitors to botanical gardens, and with explorers of remote lands, the esthetic joy provided by the incredible and infallible artistic genius of Nature, the "abstract" engraver and painter who works on the skin of our friends the trees...

Marc Fumaroli, 2007

Practical information

Main entrance
5/7 rue de Fourcy - 75004 Paris.
Telephone: (33) 1 44 78 75 00
Fax: (33) 1 44 78 75 15

Metro: Saint Paul or Pont Marie.
Bus: 67, 69, 96 or 76.
Parking : Parc Baudoyer, Parc Pont Marie, Parc Lobau.
Disabled parking available at 2 rue de Jouy.

Opening Hours
Open every day from 11 am to 8 pm, except Mondays, Tuesdays and public holidays.
Tickets on sale until 7.30 pm.

Prices
Full price: 6 €
Half price: 3 €
Half price admission for senior citizens, students, teachers, unemployed, welfare recipients, partner subscribers.
Free admission for children under 8, cardholding disabled visitors, journalists with valid press card, group leaders.
Admission is free every Wednesday from 5 pm to 8 pm.

For further information, you can visit the following website: MEP.