Bonnes mères

For four millennia, motherhood has been at the heart of stories, rituals and images that shape societies. Drawing on sources from Mediterranean cultures, the "Bonnes Mères" exhibition explores maternity as an intimate experience, a social construct, a political issue and an artistic subject.



From ancient goddess-mothers to the Bonne Mère of Marseilles, from patriotic mothers to contemporary artists, it questions representations of motherhood - often fraught with injunctions - and reveals the plurality of maternal experiences. The three-part thematic tour begins by unfolding the imaginary world of traditional mother figures, before showing the multiple and sometimes invisible realities of mothers' lives, followed by the links and transmissions of mother-child relationships.



The immersive, sunny scenography accompanies this sensitive journey. It highlights the physical, symbolic and political significance of motherhood, while paying tribute to maternal figures long kept in the shadows.



Exhibiting artists Kader Attia, Nour Awada, Omar Bâ, Letizia Battiglia, Carlo Cignani, Jérémie Cosimi, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Nathanaëlle
Herbelin, Fatima Mazmouz, Prune Nourry, Pierre et Gilles, Niki de Saint Phalle, Karine Rougier, Zineb Sedira, Freddy Tsimba, Joana Vasconcelos, Mâkhi Xenakis.


Antique typologies and contemporary works, small terracottas, large paintings, photographs, film excerpts
including one produced by the Mucem, monumental installations... 400 works, a hundred or so from the Mucem's ethnographic
ethnographic collections.


Lending institutions Musée d'Orsay, Musée Bénaki d'Athènes, Musée des Arts décoratifs de Paris, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nancy.