Exceeding one's limits
With the Joliot-Curie family, it was physical! The sporting feats of a scientific community
By Musée Curie
This exhibition was developed as part of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
With the Joliot-Curie family, it was physical!
This exhibition, based on previously unseen archives, offers a new perspective on Frédéric and Irène Joliot-Curie. Beyond the Nobel Prize and their commitments, it reveals their passion for sport and the outdoors—a reflection of both a family lifestyle and an era.
Covers of Englebert magazine (1936) by gallica.bnf.fr / BnF / BM Le MansMusée Curie
Exceeding one's limits
In 1936, the Popular Front introduced paid holidays and the 40-hour workweek. Physical activity became a tool for education and social progress, encouraging the growth of sports associations. For the Joliot-Curies, sport embodied values of equality and progress.
Mountaineering
Founded in 1874, the Club Alpin Français was one of the first sports societies to admit women. By 1894, women made up 5% of members, mostly from upper-class backgrounds. In 1920, Irène Curie and scientists from the Radium Institute practiced mountaineering with the club.
Irène Joliot-Curie's album page illustrating her ascent of Mont Tondu (1939) by Coll. privée famille Joliot.Musée Curie
An album page by Irène Joliot-Curie illustrating her ascent of Mont Tondu.
Photo taken by Dr. Claudius Regaud on the Géant Glacier in the Mont Blanc range (1922) by Musée Curie (coll. Service iconographique de l’hôpital).Musée Curie
Photo taken by Doctor Claudius Regaud, on the Géant glacier in the Mont Blanc range. In the first rope team: mountain guide Jean Bellin, Marie Regaud (wife of Claudius Regaud), their daughter Marguerite, followed by Dr. Jean Lépine and his brother Paul. In the second rope team: guide Jules Bellin, along with the Regaud children Marie-Henriette and Félix.
Regattas
While vacationing in L’Arcouest, Brittany, Frédéric Joliot bought, rigged, and captained his first boat, Le Marsouin, in 1928. A competitive sailor, he took part in seasonal regattas.
Aboard La Gaby, Frédéric Joliot-Curie's sailboat, his friend, fisherman François Labour, climbs down from the mast. Frédéric Joliot-Curie is also on board, wearing a white cap and sunglasses. The sailboats are maneuvering. La Gaby has one white sail, one dark sail hoisted, and a white hull.
The jiu-jitsu
In 1936, Moshé Feldenkrais, a physicist at the Radium Institute, founded the Jiu-Jitsu Club de France, which would later become the Judo Club de France. He became one of the first black belts in judo in Europe. Frédéric Joliot and other scientists practiced the sport there.
The two physicists, Frédéric Joliot-Curie and Moshe Feldenkrais, are practicing Judo. This sequence is extracted from Jacques-Bernard Brunius' film "Le violon d'Ingre".
Official visit to the first jiu-jitsu club in France (now called judo) (1939) by Studio Rita / Musée Curie (coll. ACJC) (gauche)Musée Curie
Official visit to France's first jiu-jitsu club (today called judo). From left to right, the following are present: Charles Faroux, Irène Joliot-Curie, Jean Zay (Minister of National Education), his wife Madeleine Zay, Frédéric Joliot-Curie, Léon Eyrolles, and Mikinosuke Kawaishi (standing behind Irène Joliot-Curie).
Article published in the left-wing daily "Ce Soir" (1937) by BnF.Musée Curie
An article from 1937, published in Le Quotidien de Gauche "Ce Soir", is dedicated to Monsieur Joliot-Curie's passion for jiu-jitsu.
"Exceeding one's limits" is the third part of a triology. Discover the first part, "Being in the great outdoors", as well as the second, "Over the generations."
Exhibition produced by © Musée Curie (UAR 6425 CNRS - Institut Curie)
Curator: Camilla Maiani
Scientific Committee: Renaud Huynh and Natalie Pigeard
Digital adaptation : Clarisse Chavanne and Valérie Frois
Acknowledgements:
For their collaboration in the creation of the exhibition: Catherine Biquard, Claire Biquard, Jean-Michel Biquard, Anne Joliot-Gricouroff, Pierre Joliot, Hélène Langevin-Joliot, and the entire Musée Curie team.
For providing iconographic materials: the Atelier des Archives, the Bibliothèque Forney, the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
For the reproduction of certain photographic archives: Sacha Lenormand.
This exhibition was created in partnership with the Cinémathèque de Bretagne, with the support of CNRS, the Institut Curie, and DRAC Île-de-France.
It is labeled as part of the Paris 2024 Cultural Olympiad.
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