This exhibition aims to display the works of artists less often shown within the context of the Pine Tree Style and to explore the ramifications of Art Nouveau in La Chaux-de-Fonds through objects that have survived from a past sometimes unfavourable towards it. It presents the material legacies – drawings, studies, ceramics and textiles – of the decade during which Charles L’Eplattenier and his students adapted stylistic observation processes and the synthesis of nature, then in vogue throughout Europe, to the particularities of the Jura’s fauna and flora, as well as attempting to apply their artistic advances to the industrial and decorative arts and to architecture. The focus on less dominant figures brings to light the work of a broader group of artists who shaped the Pine Tree Style but who disappeared into oblivion for over a century. Not surprisingly, these include several women artists, as well as others whose work has been little studied or whose presence in La Chaux-de-Fonds at the start of the last century has remained largely unknown.

The expression “Sortir du bois” in the French title means to appear in broad daylight, to reveal oneself, to step into the spotlight. The museum is thus helping to promote the work of artists such as Sophie L’Eplattenier, Marie-Louise Goering, Henriette Grandjean, René Chapallaz and Charles-Clos Olsommer, by offering a face-to-face encounter with contemporary visions: a scenographic installation by artist Mehryl Levisse and a proposal by the duo Lamarche-Ovize.

The exhibition was made possible thanks to the support of the Fondation Nestlé pour l’Art. The book  «Le Style sapin. Une expérience de l’Art nouveau» was published thanks to the support of  the Société des amis du Musée des beaux-arts (SaMba), the Loterie Romande, the Ernst Göhner Stiftung, the City of La Chaux-de-Fonds, the Fondation Nestlé pour l’Art, the Fondation culturelle BCN, the République and Canton de Neuchâtel and the Fondation en faveur de la mise en valeur du site inscrit.