The last ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty, Cleopatra pursued an active policy of reform that brought prosperity to her country. A shrewd strategist, she maintained peace throughout her twenty-year reign. Around her figure, a dark legend first took shape, which later evolved into a universal icon, combining passion and death, sensuality and cruelty, wealth and war, politics and feminism. On what foundations does this legend rest? How have artists interpreted her image over the centuries? Why does she still fascinate us today? The exhibition invites visitors to delve into the “Cleopatra mystery”…

Paintings, sculptures, prints, manuscripts, archaeological artefacts, jewellery and coins, costumes, film projections, photographs… all offer insights through a rich selection of works on loan from the Louvre, the Bibliothèque nationale, the Château de Versailles, as well as other museums in France and Spain, the United States, Italy and Switzerland. Among the items on display are ten artefacts lent by the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art: a decorated mirror, jewellery, a funerary crown, and vases.