Image: Exhibition poster (detail), 'Les aventures maritimes du Rétais Nicolas Baudin (1754-1803)', Musée Ernest Cognacq, Saint-Martin-de-Ré. Œuvre: Rachel Loeffler; conception graphique: © Evehanne Savoye
The Musée Ernest Cognacq in Saint-Martin-de-Ré is showing 'Les aventures maritimes du Rétais Nicolas Baudin (1754-1803)' from 23 May to 20 September 2026.
The exhibition follows the life of Nicolas Baudin, a navigator from the Île de Ré. The museum recounts that he trained in the Marine Royale before leaving it for the merchant service, sailed during the American War of Independence, and spent a period as a prisoner who then served the Austrian crown. A self-taught naturalist, he devised an ambitious circumnavigation project; Bonaparte instead entrusted him with a survey of the Terres australes. The museum sums up the voyage as 42 months aboard Le Géographe and Le Naturaliste, with a considerable legacy for the natural and human sciences.
According to the museum, Baudin is regarded in Australia as a figure of the order of Matthew Flinders or James Cook, yet remains little known to the French public. The exhibition is framed as an occasion to restore his place in maritime history.
The display pairs the research of author François Bernard, who has worked on Baudin, with illustrations by the artist Rachel Loeffler covering key episodes of the navigator's life; Loeffler also supplied the poster illustration. The museum's press release, dated 20 April 2026, credits Mathilde Moreau as co-curator and lists loans and reproduction rights granted by François Bernard, Rachel Loeffler, Serge Plat, the Muséum d'Histoire naturelle du Havre, the Muséum d'Histoire naturelle de La Rochelle, the Archives nationales, the Réunion des Musées Nationaux and the Service historique de la Défense in Rochefort. These are lenders and rights holders rather than co-organisers; the Musée Ernest Cognacq organises the exhibition alone.
The museum's end-of-August newsletter sets the show within its summer programme, alongside the performances 'Enchant'Oiseaux' on 20 August and 'Un os dans le cosmos' on 27 August, holiday workshops from 6 July to 28 August, and a reserve display, 'Portraits', open since 7 February 2026. The newsletter also flags the Association des Amis du Musée (AAMEC) programme of talks, performances, exhibitions and outings.
The museum is at 13 avenue Victor Bouthillier, 17410 Saint-Martin-de-Ré. The exhibition is still listed among the museum's current exhibitions and closes on 20 September 2026.
