Guided tour of the “Cartes Imaginaires” exhibition
Guided tour of the exhibition Maps imaginaires by the curators
Exhibition dates : at
Commissariat :
– Julie Garel-Grislin, Head of Conservation and Communication, Department of Maps and Plans, BnF
– Cristina lon, Assistant to the Director of the Maps and Plans Department, BnF
L’exhibition Maps imaginaires, imaginaire des cartes invites visitors on a journey to the frontiers of reality and fiction, to discover the links between cartography and the imaginary. For while maps usually trace the contours of known lands, they can also give shape to imaginary territories that can shape, transcend or reinterpret reality.
Conceived as an immersive, sensory experience, with particular attention paid to light and sound, the exhibition route plunges visitors into unexplored, mythical or literary worlds. Visitors can admire 200 works of art combining medieval parchments and contemporary art, atlases and printed books, drawings and video games. From paradise on earth to Atlantis, from Eldorado to the world of Narnia and the territories of Game of Thrones to those of Final FantasyVisitors will discover many of the cartographic masterpieces held by BnF’s Department of Maps and Plans, as well as major loans from the Musée Guimet, the British Library, the Bodleian Library and the Vatican Apostolic Library. Brought together in this way, these exceptional pieces create a dialogue between different time and space, provoking reflection, amusement and reverie, and reminding us that it is necessary to imagine the world in order to be able to represent it.
Detail of the Magnus Sinus (Golf of Thailand). Extract from Atlas nautique du monde, known as Atlas Miller, 1519, BnF, Cartes et plans
RSVP required – 2 tickets per person maximum