The Axtead Circle: Cocktail Reception at the Musée National Jean-Jacques Henner
23 September 2025

Echoes of Past and Present
By invitation only
Event Details
Where: In the heart of the 17th arrondissement – 43 avenue de Villiers – Musée National Jean-Jacques Henner
When: November 6, 2025
Schedule:
– From 6:30 PM: Access to the permanent collection, in the presence of museum lecturers and artist-in-residence, Elina Kulich.
– From 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM: Musical cocktail reception within the Musée Jean-Jacques Henner.
About the Event
On November 6, 2025, Axtead celebrates its inauguration at the Musée National Jean-Jacques Henner. Within this timeless setting—a nineteenth-century hôtel particulier—we invite you to an encounter between painting, contemporary creation, and music. Centered around the works of the master Jean-Jacques Henner, the graphic art of Elina Kulich, and the piano of Joseph Birnbaum, the evening offers an evocative experience where the past enters into dialogue with the present. From the hushed salons and monumental staircase to the luminous winter garden, every space becomes a narrative of memory and inspiration.
The Work of Jean-Jacques Henner
An Alsatian painter (1829-1905) and Prix de Rome laureate, Jean-Jacques Henner holds a unique place in nineteenth-century art history. While an heir to academic rigor, he distinguished himself through a more intimate, almost Symbolist sensibility. His idealized nudes, melancholic portraits, and mist-shrouded landscapes reveal a virtuoso mastery of chiaroscuro and a palette dominated by deep reds and velvety browns. Balancing classical tradition with modern aspirations, Henner embodies the transition toward a more introspective and spiritual form of painting that continues to fascinate today.



The Work of Elina Kulich
A 2023 graduate of the Beaux-Arts de Paris, visual artist Elina Kulich uses drawing to explore the memory of spaces and their stratification over time. The recipient of numerous awards (including the Prix des Amis des Beaux-Arts de Paris in 2023 and the Prix GIDE in 2024), she has exhibited her work both in France and internationally. For the Musée Henner, she has designed an in situ creation that explores the atmosphere of the venue—the Red Room, the staircase, the winter garden—playing with reflections, layering, and graphic sequences. Her work offers a contemporary and evocative echo of the painter’s universe, revealing the continuity between past and present.



Joseph Birnbaum – Concert Pianist
A concert pianist and vocal coach trained at the Conservatoire de Paris, Joseph Birnbaum performs on major operatic stages and at numerous international festivals. Passionate about the dialogue between voice and piano, he accompanies singers, performs in recitals and chamber music ensembles, and teaches at the Haute École de Musique in Geneva. His artistry, both virtuosic and deeply expressive, will punctuate the evening with a musical intensity in resonance with the exhibited works.



