Exhibit - The Mystery of Cleopatra – My Private Guided Tour at the Institut du Monde Arabe

The Mystery of Cleopatra is a major exhibition at the Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA) in Paris, running from June 11, 2025 to January 11, 2026. It invites visitors to explore the secrets of the myth of Cleopatra VII, the last queen of the Ptolemaic dynasty, and to compare the legend with current historical and archaeological knowledge.

My private tours at the Arab World Institute are in French, English or Arabic – for families, adults, groups or associations.

About the Exhibit

1 - Versailles, Power and Beauty

We are transported to the gardens of Versailles in the 17th century, during the reign of Louis XIV, the Sun King. A sovereign fascinated by power, spectacle, and beauty—themes that resonate strangely with the figure of Cleopatra.

The first image of Cleopatra we encounter is striking: she is naked.

What is happening? An asp, an Egyptian cobra, is slowly climbing her arm.

She is dying, yet still standing—a queen to her very last breath.

The image of Cleopatra changes according to the times and places.

Painters, writers, and sculptors project their fantasies, fears, and desires onto her.

2 - What did the archeology find ?

Not too much ! Few coins and a bust.

The exhibition therefore chooses to begin with science.

Nothing is more reliable than archaeology, material sources, and concrete evidence when it comes to trying to unravel the mystery of Cleopatra.

Gradually, a more accurate picture emerges: what she might have looked like, her personality, her character, her political influence.

Far from legend, far from myth. For we must remain cautious: much of what we know about Cleopatra comes from the Romans—often her enemies.

And history, as we know, is also written by the victors.

The exhibition concludes with a powerful and profoundly contemporary work: Cleopatra's Chair, created by Barbara Chase-Riboud, an African-American artist and sculptor.

3 - The Legend

1. Plutarch (1st–2nd century AD): The Birth of the Narrative

Plutarch never knew Cleopatra. He wrote more than a century after her death, drawing on Roman sources, often hostile to her.

For him, Cleopatra was not so much a perfect beauty as a woman of intelligence, eloquence, and strategy. He emphasizes:

• Her Voice,

• her charisma

• her ability to seduce with her mind more than her body.

Already, Cleopatra becomes a narrative character, more than a historical figure.

2. Imperial Rome: propaganda

After the victory of Octavian (Augustus), Cleopatra becomes:

• the dangerous Oriental queen,

• the corrupting woman,

• the enemy of Roman morality.

She is used to justify Mark Antony’s defeat:it was not Rome that failed, but a man bewitched by a foreign woman.

Cleopatra thus becomes a negative political figure, constructed by the victors.

3. The Middle Ages: a moral figure

In the Middle Ages, Cleopatra is rarely represented visually.She appears mainly in texts as:

• a moral example,

• a woman punished for her passions.

Her suicide is interpreted as an act of “fault” rather than of sovereignty.

The myth survives, but the queen disappears behind Christian morality.

4. The Renaissance: rediscovery and theater

With the Renaissance comes a return to ancient texts, notably Plutarch.

Cleopatra becomes:

• a tragic heroine,

• an ancient queen worthy of Greek tragedies.

She inspires:

• Shakespeare (Antony and Cleopatra),

• Italian and French painters and sculptors.

In art, emphasis is placed on:

• the moment of suicide,

• the nude or idealized body,

• dramatic emotion.

Cleopatra is now an aesthetic and theatrical icon.

5. The 17th–18th centuries: power, splendor, and absolutism

In the time of Louis XIV, Cleopatra resonates with themes of absolute power:

• the staging of the body,

• royal majesty,

• beauty as a political language.

She becomes a mirror of European courts, especially Versailles.

Cleopatra is used to speak about contemporary power through Antiquity.

6. The 19th century: orientalization and fantasy

With Orientalism, Cleopatra is transformed into:

• a femme fatale,

• an exotic creature,

• a colonial fantasy.

Artists project onto her their visions of the Orient:

• luxury,

• sensuality,

• decadence.

Cleopatra is less a queen than a Western dream.

7. The 20th–21st centuries: deconstruction and reappropriation

Modern artists seek to:

• deconstruct clichés,

• return to archaeological sources,

• question issues of gender.

Later, Cleopatra becomes:

• a feminist symbol,

• a modern political figure for Egyptians,

• a subject of identity debates (Afrocentrism, popular culture,  Netflix).

Cleopatra is no longer fixed: she is reinterpreted.

8. Art, memory, and the fight against racism

Here, Cleopatra becomes a symbol of resistance, of the fight against racism, and of identity affirmation.

In an era marked by debates on Afrocentrism and popular representations — even on Netflix — Cleopatra asserts herself as a modern heroine, reclaimed and reasserted.

A work born from an intimate dialogue with Egypt

Barbara Chase-Riboud begins this series dedicated to Cleopatra based on letters sent from Egypt by her husband, the famous French photographer Marc Riboud — another Marc, but not Antony.

These accounts, filled with landscapes, stones, and light, become the matrix of a major sculptural cycle.

Barbara Chase-Riboud: an exceptional artist

A precocious genius, Barbara Chase-Riboud entered MoMA at only 15 years old, becoming one of the first women artists to be recognized there.

She blends in her work noble and contrasting materials — bronze, silk, gold — creating a unique sculptural language, both monumental and sensual.

The Chair of Cleopatra: a technical feat

The Chair is not made using the traditional lost-wax technique, but through sand casting, a far more labor-intensive process.

The work is built piece by piece, composed of thousands of elements linked by gold wires.

The bronze mantle seems to twist and gently undulate, as if animated by an invisible inner force.

And here it is,

an empty throne to seat your Cleopatra!

This work was created in the artist’s studio on Rue des Plantes in Paris.

An exceptional fact: Barbara Chase-Riboud was exhibited at the Louvre during her lifetime — an extremely rare honor. I was able to see her in person when I was guiding at the Louvre.

Conclusion sur Cléopâtre aujourd’hui

In this final room, Cleopatra no longer belongs only to Antiquity: she crosses centuries to become a profoundly contemporary figure. By turns a Hellenistic queen, enemy of Rome, tragic heroine of the Renaissance, Orientalist fantasy, and then modern icon, Cleopatra today embodies the power of women, the complexity of identity, and the way history is constantly constructed, deconstructed, and rewritten. She reminds us that History is never fixed, that it depends on sources, perspectives, and the stakes of each era — political, cultural, or ideological. Here, science, art, and contemporary creation enter into dialogue to invite us to move beyond clichés and question our own representations.

Come with your questions, and lets rewrite the story of Cleopatra together at the Arabic World Institute, through a private guided tour that connects past, present, and my perspective today.