(streets Jacques Laffite, Bourgneuf, Frédéric Bastiat, Allées Boufflers)
In the streets of Petit Bayonne, faces begin to appear. Discreet and at eye level, they reveal themselves around the corner of a building, on a doorway or a wall. They do not impose themselves; they quietly emerge.
These portraits depict contemporaries of Léon Bonnat, drawn from the museum’s collections. Men and women who were part of his life and left their mark on his era.
For this project, C215 takes an unusual approach: the portraits are painted tone on tone. The faces seem to be imprinted into the walls rather than painted onto them. This subtle treatment creates a sense of harmony with the architecture, giving the figures a gentle, almost silent presence.
Rather than a single artwork, this is a gallery of portraits scattered throughout the city. A collection to explore and piece together.
Today, these figures inhabit a neighbourhood undergoing transformation, in the very place where Léon Bonnat had his museum built with architect Charles Planckaert. In their own way, their presence extends the painter’s original gesture: sharing with the city the faces that shaped its history.
C215, whose real name is Christian Guémy, is a leading figure in contemporary stencil art. His work focuses primarily on portraiture, which he has been developing in public spaces for many years.
He works on a variety of surfaces — walls, doors and urban objects — often favouring relatively small formats. This scale allows him to weave his artworks into everyday life, close to passers-by.
His approach combines remarkable technical precision with particular attention to facial expressions. Each portrait captures a presence, an intensity, whether depicting anonymous individuals or historical figures.
Through his interventions, C215 has developed a body of work deeply connected to the places he encounters. His portraits engage in a dialogue with the surfaces, everyday activities and local histories of each location.
In Bayonne, he draws on this artistic language to bring figures from the museum’s collections into the public space, reflecting his own interest in portraiture and the transmission of memory.
The project was developed in close collaboration with the team at the Bonnat-Helleu Museum. Together, they selected seven portraits of men and women who played an important role in Léon Bonnat’s life and career.
These portraits form a trail entitled Autour de Bonnat (Around Bonnat). It creates a loop through Petit Bayonne, a lively working-class neighbourhood that is home to both the Bonnat-Helleu Museum and the Basque Museum and History of Bayonne. Visitors are invited to explore freely, connecting the faces and discovering them as they wander through the streets.
Some portraits are located at community and social care facilities, such as Maison Relais Pasaia and DAME (a support centre for mothers and children). In these settings, the artist took time to meet the people who use these services, sharing his personal journey and artistic practice with them. These encounters are an integral part of the project, extending the experience beyond the painted walls.
C215’s work embodies a spirit of generosity that is central to street art: images offered to everyone, freely visible and accessible in public spaces. In a different way, this gesture echoes that of Léon Bonnat. Supported by the city of Bayonne early in his career, he later chose to bequeath his collection to the city. Two different approaches, yet both rooted in the same desire to share.
