Cartes imaginaires
Inventer des mondes
BnF Site François Mitterrand
- from 24 March to 19 July, 2026
- Quai François Mauriac, 75706 Paris
- bnf.fr
The exhibition “Cartes imaginaires. Inventer des mondes” (Imaginary Maps: Inventing Worlds) invites visitors on a journey between reality and fiction, exploring the links between cartography and the imagination. Maps give shape to imaginary territories that extend or reinvent the real world.
A sensory and immersive experience
The exhibition immerses visitors in unexplored, mythical or literary worlds, presenting 200 works ranging from medieval manuscripts to contemporary art, drawings and video games.
From the Garden of Eden to Atlantis, from El Dorado to Narnia, from Game of Thrones to Assassin’s Creed, visitors will discover masterpieces from the BnF and loans from the Guimet Museum, the British Library, the Bodleian Library in Oxford, the Royal Library of Belgium and the Vatican Apostolic Library.
These exceptional pieces create a dialogue between different spaces and times, inspiring reflection, wonder and reverie. They remind us that imagining the world is necessary in order to represent it.
Lopo Homem
Atlas Miller, Golfe du Siam (détail), 1519
BnF (département des Cartes et plans)
Exhibition itinerary — A journey in four stages
The exhibition presents treasures rarely shown to the public in four stages.
The first is devoted to unexplored worlds through cartographic iconography. The maps incorporate fabulous figures from ancient and religious sources, populating the margins of known lands. Visitors travel across five continents with mythical creatures that gradually disappeared from maps in the 18th century.
The second stop presents legendary worlds, imaginary places believed to be real. Atlantis, the kingdom of Prester John, El Dorado and the Garden of Eden take shape on the globe. Non-Western maps, particularly Buddhist maps featuring Mount Meru, anchor mythical places with strong symbolic significance.
The third explores literary worlds where fiction breaks free from reality. These maps give substance to narrative universes, from Treasure Island to Narnia, from Final Fantasy to Game of Thrones.
The fourth stop considers the map in its evocative and subjective dimension, creating a dialogue between ancient and contemporary works. Art deconstructs the cartographic device to reveal the construction of a collective vision.
Commissariat
- Julie Garel-Grislin, Head of Conservation and Communication, Maps and Plans Department, BnF
- Cristina Ion, Assistant Director, Maps and Plans Department, BnF
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