Explorations: a matter of state?
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.
Marin Marie, Le Pourquoi pas dans le Scoresby Sound (1925), 1943 © Musée national de la Marine
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.
Through a rich diversity of archives, scientific and technical objects, works of art and testimonies, Explorations: a matter of state? Looks back at how intentions and ambitions have evolved over time. The 18th century was dominated by intellectual, commercial and expansionist motivations. The 19th century was marked by scientific missions and territorial conquests linked to colonisation. At the end of the Second World War, the race to explore space and the depths of the ocean sought to reaffirm French power.
The contemporary era is marked by geopolitical, environmental and sovereignty issues: the exploration of the abyss, the poles and space – reservoirs of natural resources – threatened by climate crises and the risk of conflict, as well as the emergence of new digital environments.
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