Animaux Fantastiques : Du Merveilleux Dans L'art

Exhibition at Louvre-Lens, 27 September 2023 - 15 January 2024

Dragons, griffins, sphinxes, unicorns, phoenixes... Fantastic animals hold a discreet but constant place in our contemporary imaginations, as demonstrated by their presence in works as diverse as Harry Potter and Game of Thrones. Their hybrid nature and monstrous appearance provoke fascination and repulsion, but unlike humanoid monsters, they are seen as creatures that man can tame, or even domesticate.

Through almost 250 works - sculpture, painting, objets d'art as well as film and music - from Antiquity to the present day, this exhibition catalogue takes a cross-cultural approach to the adventures and tribulations of these emblematic figures. It examines the origins and functions of these ambiguous creatures, which are in turn images of terror and of the attraction inspired by the divine, the transcendent and the unknown, or expressions of our hidden subconscious, embodying our anxieties or our longing for the marvellous.