'Baroque Magic' exhibition

In the exhibition rooms of the Château de Bussy-Rabutin, wander amongst the visual and audio installations, discovering the fascination that the figure of the enchantress has held inthe artistic imagination, from the Renaissance to the Baroque period.

This exhibition shines a spotlight on the Baroque sorceress and her enchantments through a spectacular journey! Capable oftrapping knights in their gardens of illusion, transforming men or even unleashing bolts of lightning, sorceresses such as Circe, Alcina and Armide were major figures in Baroque culture. 

Literary classics of the period, such as Aristotle’s*Orlando Furioso*(1532) or Tasso’s*Jerusalem Delivered*(1581), highlight the mysterious role reserved for them in court ballets and performances. 

Bring the whole family to discover these women who, in court operas and plays, were very often the set designer’s right-hand women. The set designer used ingenious machinery and spectacularstage effects to bring magic to life on stage: transformations, vanishings, lighting effects… 

Come and embark on a dreamlike journey through this artistic exhibition and follow in the footsteps of these magicians!

A travelling exhibition presented by the Centre des monuments nationaux, produced in partnership with the town of Bailleul and curated by Francis Adoue.