Eating with Your Eyes

Two centuries of French life around the table, at the Musée de la Faïence et des Arts de la Table in Samadet

Until 15 November 2027, the Musée des Arts de la Table in Samadet serves up a new take on this acclaimed exhibition, first shown at MUCEM in Marseille in 2018 — now reimagined for the Landes. And yes, Maïté, the Landes’ much-loved television cook, makes an appearance too 😊.

Anonymous photographs mingle with works by celebrated names — Nicéphore Niépce, Robert Doisneau, Willy Ronis, Martin Parr and others — in a journey through two centuries of French life around the table.

From meals in the trenches of the First World War to the carefully choreographed tables of diplomacy; from Sunday family lunches to TV dinners; from wedding feasts to the endless stream of food imagery on social media… the exhibition explores how photography has captured the social and cultural shifts surrounding this most French of rituals.

A very good reason to leave the gentle cocoon of Eugénie behind for a few hours.

The Musée de la Faïence et des Arts de la Table in Samadet is open Tuesday to Sunday, 2–6pm, from 15 February to 15 November. Full admission €4.50; free for under-25s.

Museum website