From November 7, 2025, to January 17, 2026, the Bertran Gallery in Rouen will pay tribute to Charles Frechon, a largely forgotten but significant figure in the city's art history. This unprecedented exhibition showcases nearly 20 paintings that trace the journey of this discreet painter who defied categorization and became a pillar of the Rouen School of painting.

Normandy, particularly Rouen in Seine-Maritime, has been home to many celebrities. While contemporary stars like Franck Dubosc, astronaut Thomas Pesquet, equestrian Pénélope Leprévost, musician KeenV, Formula 1 driver Pierre Gasly, electronic artist Petit Biscuit, and even Beyoncé have connections to the region, there are also much older celebrities, now almost forgotten, most of them painters or writers. Charles Frechon is one of these overlooked talents.

Antoine Bertran, the Rouen gallery owner hosting the exhibition, describes Frechon as "a singular artist, sincere and profoundly Norman." The exhibition features works that demonstrate Frechon's sensitive artistry, uniting different techniques, colors, and landscapes. His work doesn't fit into any single category, making him a unique figure in art history.

Charles Frechon was born in 1856 in Blangy-sur-Bresle, at the border between Normandy and Picardy. He moved to Rouen early in his career, and at age 23, he entered the city's Academy of Painting and Drawing, where he received solid but highly academic training. "For the professors, Impressionism was like gangrene," explains Antoine Bertran. "They knew it was rising in Paris, but they didn't want any of that in Rouen." The public was equally resistant to the new movement. "When they saw the first Impressionist canvases, some people spat on them. Non-academic painters were kind of like the punks of their era," Bertran notes.

Frechon was part of this Rouen avant-garde movement. He wasn't alone in dreaming of freer art. Along with Léon-Jules Lemaître, Charles Legrand, and Joseph Delattre, they formed what would later be called the "Musketeers" of Rouen – four painters determined to abandon academicism and paint outdoors. "Academicism consisted of realistic paintings of religious or mythological figures. Then came the desire to paint something else, nature, life," Antoine explains. Their military-inspired name perfectly reflected their rebellious spirit. "It was very tense between them and the professors – they hated each other," the gallery owner recounts.

These artists, influenced by Corot and the Barbizon School, set up their easels along the Seine River, in the industrial suburbs around Rouen, painting in a style that approached Impressionist codes. However, Frechon was perhaps the quietest member of the group. "He wasn't the most vocal against the professors," Antoine smiles. Instead, Frechon remained in his countryside, which served as his primary inspiration. He painted his garden and his children, developing a unique technique that set him apart from his contemporaries.

After classical beginnings, Frechon moved directly from pre-Impressionism to Pointillism, eventually developing his own distinctive style. "He's neither entirely in one genre nor entirely in another. It's actually Divisionism. He makes dots, then sorts of commas, small juxtaposed touches of color," Antoine observes. "He loved this slow, almost meditative work." This careful, contemplative approach earned Frechon the nickname "the painter of the four seasons" as he observed his countryside through different times of year – summer haymaking, autumn mists, blooming orchards.

Frechon's brushwork broadened over time, but his subjects remained consistent. He had a particular talent for playing with colors, incorporating unexpected touches that somehow maintained overall coherence. "Little notes of pink where you might expect blue, but everything remains coherent," Antoine describes. "And it's alive. He's not the most famous of the Musketeers, but he sold works very quickly, precisely because the colors are cheerful and vibrant."

The works displayed in the exhibition are particularly rare and valuable. Charles Frechon left between 600 and 800 works during his career, but several disappeared in a fire at the family house in Blangy during the German invasion in 1940. Each surviving piece is now precious. The Bertran Gallery has assembled 16 of his works created between 1888 and 1910, all from a private collection, with some being shown to the public for the first time.

Why discover Frechon today? According to Antoine, "Because he shows Normandy as it was more than a century ago." The gallery owner regrets that there aren't more of Frechon's paintings in the Rouen Museum of Fine Arts. "It has to be said that it costs very expensive," he admits, adding, "yet for people to know these artists, they must be shown." The Bertran Gallery is located at 108 rue Molière in Rouen, open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon and 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., with free admission.