A unique exhibition presenting three centuries of French exploration, from yesterday to today, where science, power and the military come together in a major challenge to sovereignty.

Come to explore three centuries of scientific and military adventures, through time and space!

In 1763, France lost the Seven Years' War and, with it, its first colonial empire in America and Asia. Against a backdrop of international rivalries, with the English and Dutch dominating the seas, the French monarchy sought to reaffirm its superiority by supporting vast expeditions around the world.

From the 18th century to the present day, the exhibition Explorations: A Matter of State traces the great explorations that France commissioned, prepared and conducted to the far reaches of known territories. It recounts the impulses that gave rise to them, the ambitions that drove them, and the human, scientific and political challenges they faced, from the initial preparations to their accomplishments.

By opening up to contemporary explorations-from distant lands to the abyss, from space to digital universes-the exhibition highlights the ambitions and territorial strategies that still structure the balance of power between the major powers today.

The exhibition curators:

Lieutenant Colonel Philippe Guyot, Head of the Artillery Department

Lucie Moriceau-Chastagner, Head of the Photography Collection, Fine Arts and Heritage Department

Lucile Paraponaris, Provenance Research Officer, Inventory, Dissemination and History of Collections Department

Antoine Tromski, Collections Officer, Contemporary Department

Assisted by Pamina Weité

The exhibition features a wide selection of his engravings and drawings and, for the first time, nearly all of his easel paintings and altarpieces, including the Virgin with the Rosebush from 1473, his only dated panel painting. In these works, Schongauer reveals himself to be a keen observer of nature, an inventive and sensitive storyteller, and a cultured artist.

From 8 April 2026 to 6 September 2026, the Musée national Picasso-Paris will present Henry Taylor.Where thoughts provoke, an exhibition devoted to one of the most significant figures in contemporary American painting. This exhibition, designed in collaboration with the artist himself, spans his entire artistic career while continuing the museum's exploration of Pablo Picasso's reception on the American scene. It follows exhibitions dedicated to Faith Ringgold (2023), Jackson Pollock (2024) and Philip Guston (2025), and precedes the major retrospective devoted to the Harlem Renaissance movement (spring 2027).

This exhibition at the Musée national Picasso-Paris is the artist's first survey exhibition in France.

The exhibition received exclusive support from Louis Vuitton.

CURATION OF THE EXHIBITION

Joanne Snrech, Conservatrice du patrimoine, Musée national Picasso Paris

From April 4 to August 23, 2026, the Musée de Grenoble dedicates an exhibition to Charlotte Perriand, a major figure in 20th century design and architecture. This event highlights a still unknown part of his work: his mountain photographs, recently given by the Charlotte Perriand Archives at the Grenoble Museum.