Mirabilis. Collections d'Avignon

Reflecting the cultural ambition of the City of Avignon, the exhibition MIRABILIS presents more than 450 works and bears witness to the firm determination to make culture accessible to all. Beneath the vaults of the emblematic Great Chapel of the Palace of the Popes and in the form of "cabinets of curiosities", naturalia, exotica, antiques, artefacts, tribal and decorative art, paintings and sculptures come together in an eclectic dialogue. Encouraging a transversal approach to the collections, these marvels, these rare and unusual objects, whether a Picasso's portrait of Mallarmé or the vertebra of Pope Innocent VI, delineate a spectacular itinerary conceived by Christian Lacroix.
From the fine arts to the natural sciences, the collections of Avignon's five public museums embrace a broad spectrum of disciplines, territories, and chronological periods. They also attest to the exceptional personality of great local collectors and learned people, such as Esprit Calvet (1728-1810), Esprit Requien (1788-1851) and Jeanne de Flandreysy (1874-1959). Thanks to their bequests, these three scholars ensured the longevity of their collections and their names, and bestowed on Avignon an inimitable treasure trove of art and culture.