The Musée régional de Vaudreuil-Soulanges is bidding a well-deserved farewell to one of its most famous ambassadors, the mouse Cyprienne, with the exhibition Johanne Mitchell - Cyprienne en rétrospective. The Museum is also taking this opportunity to pay tribute to author Chantal Séguin and illustrator Johanne Mitchell who, like Cyprienne, are taking or have already taken well-deserved retirement.

In the room on the 2nd floor, Cyprienne wanders through the canvases created by Johanne Mitchell, which are identical to the images that filled the pages of the 13 albums. From her first album, simply entitled Les aventures de Cyprienne, through La guitare, Le Cécilia L., Le géant , Le train, Le Petit pouvoir du canal de Soulanges, to Les Seigneuriales, L'Arche, Catherine Trestler, etc., the story of the Musée régional's exhibitions is told through the objects, places and characters that inspired the albums' illustrations.

As Chantal Séguin, curator of the exhibition for the Musée and author of the books, tells us: “ Writing and illustrating a book took a year; I would propose a text and sometimes rework it at the request of the illustrator, it was a long-term job. She adds: “ This exhibition brings us full circle; we're both retiring. What's more,” she concludes, ”this exhibition wasn't on the schedule, but an event was cancelled, which gave us the idea of presenting a retrospective of Cyprienne's adventures. The timing was perfect.

A selection of Johanne Mitchell's illustrations are presented on canvas and are also available for sale at a very reasonable price.

Johanne Mitchell's inspiration for Cyprienne the mouse came 35 years ago, when she had a few such visitors in her century-old home. Ten years later, Cyprienne emerged from her century-old habitat to become the Museum's cultural ambassador. The illustrator was presenting projects linked to the Museum's school activities and exhibitions. Ms. Mitchell published 5 adventures related to the Museum's collections before 2014.

A few years later, she was back with eight new stories about local places, objects and historical figures, including Catherine Trestler, the Seigneuriales and more.

Enjoy. On view until January 22, 2025.