Femmes déesses

In order to emphasise the multiple aspects of female representation in the archaeological collections and modern art some 180 pieces stemming from the Near and Middle East, Egypt, Greece, and Etruria were juxtaposed with various “highlights” of the Laténium collection and also with the works of renowned artists such as Albert Anker, Fernando Botero and Marcel Mathys. These multiple visions of women evidenced continuity and sometimes amazing analogies between Prehistory, Antiquity and Modern Art.

What were the roles women played in the different civilisations over the millennia? What authority, status and rights did they have? Whether as symbols of fertility, mother-goddesses, princesses, servants, craftswomen, courtesans or judges, women are omnipresent among the vestigial remains of the past. Fascinating in the eyes of men, women did not always enjoy a privileged lot. And although they had exceptional rights in some cultures, they could be excluded in others – a situation that has changed little in the 21st century!

This exhibition was made possible thanks to loans from the following institutions and private collections: Musée du Malgré Tout, Treignes (Belgium); Collections “Bible+Orient” of the Université de Fribourg; Museum zu Allerheiligen, Schaffhausen; Musée d’Ethnographie, Neuchâtel; Musée d’Yverdon-les-Bains et de sa région; Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna (Austria); Cinémathèque suisse, Lausanne; Christine Aymon (Vérossaz), Fernando Botero (Paris), Jean-François Bouvier (Peseux), Marcel Mathys (Auvernier); Jean-Francis Richard (Bevaix).