EXHIBITION "Botanists at the top"

Botanists and mountaineers in the Alps-Maritimes between the two centuries

September 22 - October 31, 2018

Portrait of Victor of Cessole - al. library of the Victor Knight of Cessole

From September 22 to October 31, 2018, the city of Nice invites you to discover the exhibition "botanists at the top. Botanists and mountaineers in the Alps-Maritimes between the two centuries' in the library Louis Nucéra. An inaugural conference held by the Commissioners of the exhibition will be held on Saturday, September 22 at 4 p.m. in the auditorium of the library.

In the middle of the 19th century, botanists and mountaineers will travel the Argentera-Mercantour, each looking for plants, others to the conquest of the many untouched peaks. All these men will be sensitive to the quality of the nature that they discover. The exhibition pays tribute to these pioneers of the study of biodiversity who contributed, through their work, to the reputation of the nice area and including the toponymy, for some, has kept the memory: Antoine Risso, Justin - Ignace Montolivo, Emile Burnat,. Clarence Bicknell, Joseph Vallot, or Victor de Cessole...

At the end of the XVIII century, the County of Nice has a solid reputation botanical. If naturalists from all over Europe come to discover our region, nice botanists also contribute to the knowledge of this biodiversity. Among the best known:

-Augustin Balmossière-Chartroux(1729-1813) which is from 1780 an important Herbarium of more than six hundred plants;

-Jean-Baptiste Verany(1800-1865) who will open a first Cabinet of curiosity from 1828 and be originally in 1846 the first nice Museum;

-Jean-Baptiste Barla(1817-1896) who will devote his time and fortune to the study of the Natural Sciences. He is best known for its exceptional collections of casts of mushrooms but will also study vascular plants and fish. In 1862 he built a building to present its collections to the public, building what he bequeathed to his death in the city of Nice, and which will become the current natural history Museum often referred to as Museum Barla.

-Vincent Fossat(1822-1891) is a painter, watercolourist, hired by Jean-Baptiste Barla in 1853. He'll realize thousands of naturalistic watercolors within the Nice Museum, which today constitute an exceptional work.

The French Alpine Club and the Mercantour national park are partners in this exhibition.