Exhibition: Plants that heal

Healing plants: a history of botany in the southern Causses and Cévennes
With watercolors by Omer Faiherbe, Isabelle Mouton and Julien Norwood

We are extending part of the temporary exhibition from 2025, "Plants that heal, history of botany and medicine in the southern Causses and Cévennes", giving special attention to drawings.
The shepherd's herbarium, collected by ethnologist Adrienne Durand Tullou in the late 1960s, remains the starting point for this presentation. Since ancient times, humans have turned to Nature to relieve and heal their ailments.
Thus, the exhibition explores how the inhabitants of the Causses and Cévennes regions were able to make use of local plant resources to develop medicinal knowledge. Documents and testimonies trace the evolution of these practices, which are passed down through oral tradition, while also highlighting the role of physician-botanists trained in Montpellier from the 16th century onwards.
This exhibition highlights the work of botanical painters, naturalist painters who, through their expertise, convey knowledge of the plant world. Watercolors by three artists are on display throughout the 2026 season.

Omer Faidherbe
Born in Brussels in 1934, he attended a painting academy, horticulture courses, and, in England, the University of Bristol, where he earned a PhD in botany and horticultural science. He settled in Le Vigan in the 1970s and, between 2008 and 2011, painted over 1000 botanical plates depicting the flora of the Causses and Cévennes regions. Omer Faidherbe died in 2014.

Isabelle Mouton
A graduate of the Victor Horta Institute and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, Isabelle is now a graphic designer and a painter of birds and plants. She lives between Burgundy, where she has her studio, and Paris.

Julien Norwood
Trained at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, Julien Norwood is a natural history illustrator. His rigorous and inspired style here puts drawing at the service of transmitting a living heritage.
"Flors de Cevenas" is a collection of twenty botanical watercolors commissioned by the Cévennes National Park in 2025. These drawings accompany the ethnobotanical work carried out by Monique Carlier for the Cévennes National Park on local knowledge related to plants. When Occitan reveals traditional uses and a sensitive approach to plants.

Throughout the exhibition, discover the dialogue that unfolds between art, science, and the Causses and Cévennes region. May this visit lead you to explore the rich biodiversity of the area by participating in the many tours and workshops offered at the museum and by the numerous local partners.

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