Mythologies

The first temporary exhibition since the reopening of the Musée Bonnat-Helleu in Bayonne, “Mythologies” brings together the great founding narratives that run through human history, from Pharaonic Egypt to modern Japan, and from ancient Greece to the Basque mountains. Designed in partnership with the Musée du Louvre and with the exceptional participation of the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, it brings together nearly one hundred works from every period and every continent.

How was the world created? What forces inhabit it? How do heroines and heroes shape its destiny? These are the fundamental questions our myths seek to answer. Born from the need to explain the world, confront the unknown and reflect on the human condition, these stories travel across cultures, evolve over time and echo one another, so much so that societies separated by vast distances and centuries have imagined remarkably similar figures and narratives. “Mythologies” offers an unprecedented dialogue between these figures and stories, bringing together for the first time the mythological worlds of the Pyrenees, the great traditions of the Mediterranean, the Near and Middle East, and those of Mexico, Oceania and Africa.

As part of their ongoing partnership, the Musée du Louvre and the Musée Bonnat-Helleu have joined forces to create an exhibition exploring the often ancient motifs that connect the mythologies of the Pyrenees with those of many other cultures. Bird women, or laminak, the Cyclops Tartalo and the wild men, or basajaunak, encounter the Titans battling the Greek gods, Odysseus reunited with Penelope, and Hercules completing his Twelve Labours, within an intentionally open, kaleidoscopic exhibition design. Thanks to the exceptional loans granted by the Musée du Louvre—including Raphael’s celebrated Saint George and the Dragon, a masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance—the exhibition reveals numerous points of convergence between civilizations.

The exceptional participation of the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac further broadens the exhibition’s scope, opening it to cultures from around the world. A Ciwara mask from Mali is presented alongside a bust of Homer; the Aztec Feathered Serpent, Quetzalcoatl, enters into dialogue with the Woman with the Serpent, a legendary Pyrenean figure depicted on the Stone of Oô; and a Japanese Noh theatre mask is displayed beside a Hartza costume from the traditional Souletin masquerade.

“Mythologies” also extends the dialogue on our great myths to their contemporary representations. As Roland Barthes, a native of Bayonne, demonstrated, myths do not belong solely to the past. Through the heroines and heroes they celebrate, the monsters and demons they evoke, and the origins they attribute to mysterious phenomena, these great narratives continue to shape our imagination and influence the way we see the world, inspiring contemporary literature, cinema and video games.

The exhibition unfolds both in the temporary exhibition galleries and throughout the museum’s permanent collection, notably through a rotating display of drawings selected from the museum’s rich holdings. Works by Rubens, Van Dyck, Poussin and Géricault will be exceptionally presented to the public.

This exhibition is produced by the Musée Bonnat-Helleu, the Fine Arts Museum of Bayonne, in partnership with the Musée du Louvre and with the exceptional collaboration of the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac.

Curators: Benjamin Caule and Barthélemy Etchegoyen Glama (Musée Bonnat-Helleu), François Bridey and Dominique de Font-Réaulx (Musée du Louvre).