Baroque Magic exhibition

This exhibition highlights the figure of the baroque magician and her enchantments, through a spectacular journey!

Capable of imprisoning knights in their gardens of illusion, metamorphosing men and making lightning strike, sorceresses such as Circe, Alcina and Armide were major figures in Baroque culture.

The literary classics of the period, such as Ariosto's The Furious Roland (1532) and Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered (1581), highlight the mysterious role they played in courtly ballets and shows.

Discover these women as a family, who, in operas and court plays, were often the double of the set designer. The set designer used prodigious machinery and scenic effects to bring the magic to life on stage: transformation, disappearance, lighting effects...

Underlying all this is a presentation of the world of entertainment, its ingenious mechanisms and the way it was illuminated in the Baroque period.

From scene to scene, magic, metamorphosis, bewitchment and other enchanting decors will transport you to a setting where the frontiers of the world of magic merge with theatre sets and the various rooms of the château.

This is an exhibition to share with family and friends alike, to the delight of young and old alike!

• Design: Francis Adoue, Project Manager, Cultural Events Department, Centre des monuments nationaux, Exhibition graphic design and production assistant: Thierry-François Combe
• Sets: Francis Adoue, Thierry-François Combe, Loïc Pantaly
• Video production: Fred Di Noto
• The magician: Perrine Alizard
• The knight: Jean-Baptiste Plumeau
• Alcina's castle-island and Armide's garden: Laetitia Mieral - Paper Wonders
• Le banquet merveilleux and Le palais magique: Loïc Pantaly
• Garden of Dreams: Jérôme Pellerin
• Au cœur du jardin and La destruction du palais: Sébastien Simon

With the exceptional participation of Isabelle Adjani: the voice of the magician. Excerpt from Renaud et Armide by Jean Cocteau.