De la vigne au verre. Le vin chez Balzac

The exhibition “From Vine to Glass: Wine in Balzac’s World” brings together more than 80 works and objects at the Maison de Balzac to explore the place of wine in the writer’s novels and in nineteenth-century society. Paintings, prints and posters are displayed alongside tableware and winemaking equipment, linking the rituals of the table to the realities of the vineyard.

In Balzac’s work, a bottle reveals far more than the drinker’s taste. Wine is part of the daily diet, served at social gatherings and a reflection of social ambitions. The wine trade and the innovations transforming vineyards also make it a matter of money. The exhibition brings these uses together to show how a single product moves across social circles and reveals the relationships between characters.

This approach draws on several kinds of writing, from the Treatise on Modern Stimulants to the novelist’s correspondence. Wine is central to Eugénie Grandet and The Illustrious Gaudissart, while in Lost Illusions, The Muse of the Department and The Black Sheep it emerges in the course of the narrative. The exhibition thus offers a way into The Human Comedy through a tangible theme that encompasses economics, social life and the pleasures of the table.

Practical information
- Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am to 6 pm. Closed on Mondays, 25 December and 1 January.
- Entrance at 49 rue Raynouard.