In commemoration of the 140^th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and France in 2026, LOTTE Museum of Art presents From Michel Delacroix, With Love, a retrospective exhibition featuring the works of French painter Michel Delacroix.

Michel Delacroix is a painter who has spent years capturing the essence of his beloved city, Paris. The Paris he captures on his canvas is not limited to familiar landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower or the Notre-Dame Cathedral. His paintings are imbued with countless memories and moments he has held dear since childhood. Children playing in the alleys, people holding flowers as they wait for someone, people quietly cleaning the streets, cafés and shops lighting up one by one, and even the changing expressions of the streets with each season. Scenes where one may find figures of ordinary people going about their daily lives. Given their unpretentious nature, these scenes linger in one’s heart for a long time, indicating that the painter looked back upon them with a warm gaze before capturing them on canvas.

For Michel Delacroix, born in Paris in 1933, Paris is a landscape of the mind, a city built layer upon layer of countless memories. Although the city he encountered while wandering the streets since childhood has changed over the years—both in appearance and in the people living within it—the Paris he once saw and felt long ago still remains in his paintings. He evokes scenes and emotions that have faded with time through his own painterly language, unfolding them before us once more.

Michel Delacroix’s paintings contain no special events or dramatic scenes. Restrained forms, flat compositions, and soft tones transform his canvases into scenes that feel real, as if they exist somewhere within one’s memory. By capturing the warmth of twilight, the feeling of waiting for someone, and the moments of taking a stroll with a loved one, he quietly creates his own lyrical and poetic world. And within these simple, everyday scenes, we discover that even the days that seemed ordinary were, in fact, the precious moments that make up our lives.

Gazing upon his works, one may feel a strange longing for the alleys of Paris from long ago—places they have never even visited—and the faces of strangers may suddenly remind them of someone they once loved. Perhaps this is the story Michel Delacroix has been sharing with us through his paintings all this time.

What makes life beautiful is not grand events, but the countless moments we have lived together, loving and remembering one another. That is why, perhaps, the city of Paris is not the only subject of Michel Delacroix’s paintings all along. The “Paris” encountered in his paintings is a heart that remembers the time that has passed, the small joys found in an ordinary day, and a story about the things we must cherish in life.

LOTTE Museum of Art has composed this exhibition as “a letter” from the painter himself to us. Following the traces of memories of his beloved Paris, we embark on a journey to discover the changes in daily life and the seasons, love and longing, and hope.

As loss and anxiety—both great and small—continue to unfold across the world, the simple and affectionate scenes of daily life captured by Michel Delacroix lead us to quietly reflect on what we must protect and what truly matters in life.

From December, when we wrap up the year and reflect on the time that has passed, to March, when we welcome a new beginning and a fresh season, we hope this affectionate letter reaches many, going beyond nationalities and generations. May each of you, standing before Michel Delacroix’s paintings, be able to revisit the memories you have held dear. May his letter offer you a small comfort as you navigate the day, and a warm hope as you move forward in life.

With love,

LOTTE Museum of Art