The story begins in 1842. Eugene Delacroix stays with his friend George Sand. The painter is inspired by a scene he sees in the park at Nohant; a servant teaches her daughter to read. He made a sketch then used it as a basis for his work “The Education of the Virgin” which he then offered to George Sand. The writer made it happen a copy by his son Maurice. It is this copy which was exhibited in the church of Nohant until the 1880s.
During renovation work on the church, the work was taken down. She has been sleeping in the reserves of the Châtre museum. The association therefore requests its return to its original place. Thierry Déano is co-president of the Friends of Vieux la Chatre: “We will try to raise funds to ensure the safety and good conservation conditions of the work. Perhaps it will be necessary to go through armored glass. We will also see how to bring electricity into the church and install spotlights for beautiful lighting that would highlight the painting.“
But first we must convince the Musée de la Châtre to put the work back in its place. Hence the idea of exhibiting a photograph of the painting, installed in place of Maurice Sand’s work, in the church of Nohant. As for the original painting by Delacroix, it is exhibited at the Delacroix museumantenna of the Louvre. “George Sand kept it for a very long time. She owned several works by Delacroix of whom she was a close friend. But when the painter died, she had to sell it for financial reasons. “The education of the Virgin was entrusted to friends, then to Maurice Genevoix. It was his widow who donated it to the Louvre in 2023“.
