Nicolas Bouvier – Voyages to the Levant

In 2026, after the major success of the exhibitions “Play, play, play”, a William Klein retrospective (21,653 visitors) and “Genesis” by Sebastião Salgado (28,662 visitors), Montélimar-Agglomération is presenting a unique retrospective at the MAC dedicated to the Swiss writer and traveller Nicolas Bouvier (1929–1998).

Author of books that have become essential reading for generations of adventurers across the globe, starting with his masterpiece “L’Usage du monde” (1963) and “Le Poisson-scorpion” (1982), this explorer, with his keen eye for images and as an iconographer, was also a photographer. The upcoming exhibition, running from 12 May to 31 October 2026, offers a chance to discover this little-known aspect of his work, two years before the centenary of his birth and the bicentenary of the invention of photography.

Nicolas Bouvier’s images, taken mainly during his travels in Japan between 1955 and 1970, are juxtaposed with those of leading photographers. This immersive exhibition unveils over 130 photographs – rare silver gelatin prints and colour prints – as visitors wander through a space punctuated by texts by Nicolas Bouvier.

Curated by: Nicolas Crispini