Curators:
Leïla Jarbouai, Chief Curator, Musée d'Orsay, assisted by Emma Dechorgnat, PhD candidate in Art History
Sophie Kervran, Chief Curator, Musée de Pont-Aven, assisted by Camille Armandary, Head of Exhibitions
"Are you a witch? Yes or no? I sighed: - Everyone gives this word a different meaning. Everyone believes they can shape the witch as they wish, so that she satisfies their ambitions, dreams, desires..."
Moi, Tituba sorcière, Maryse Condé (1986)
2025 marks a significant year for the Musée de Pont-Aven, as it celebrates its 40th anniversary. To mark this milestone, the museum is presenting two ambitious exhibitions: the first monographic exhibition of contemporary artist Corinne Vionnet, from February to May; and a summer exhibition in partnership with the Musée d'Orsay, dedicated to the figure of the witch in the 19th century.
At the heart of our collective imagination, witches have long embodied the allegory of old age, death, vice, and evil. They are linked to the supernatural, to nature, to the fearsome and the uncontrollable. However, 1862 marked a turning point with the publication of La Sorcière by historian Jules Michelet: the witch became both a symbol of rebellion, knowledge, and harmony with the natural elements, laying the foundations of eco-feminism.
Re-enchanted, she transformed into a symbol of the struggle of the oppressed against arbitrary power. Ambivalent, the witch crystallizes male fantasies, becoming an eroticized icon endowed with eternal youth, in stark contrast to the hideous old woman of folktales and illustrations. For mostly male artists, the witch evokes the other and the unknown, with its blend of allure and threat. In a patriarchal society where women were considered minors, the witch personified the strong woman who defied the established order, becoming a model and a symbol for feminists in the following century. She stands as a figure of resistance against dominant powers.
The exhibition creates a dialogue between different art forms, featuring graphic arts, painting, sculpture, decorative objects, photography, cinema, as well as music, dance, and literature.
Exhibition in partnership with the Musée d'Orsay.
