New exhibition in Paris at the Bibliotheque Nationale Française enlightens us about the history of our apocalyptic thinking in the past and present

Doom-scrolling and prepping are the modern versions of apocalyptic fear. As usual, signs are numerous, covering climate catastrophe, the sixth extinction and the occasional spotting of an Antichrist in the disguise of the new global despots. A new exhibition in Paris offers the possibility to explore the historical background of the history of apocalyptic thinking, demonstrating how throughout the centuries the same questions exercised the minds of us all.

Apocalypse is an obscure, frightening word that speaks of the end of the world. For the past two thousand years, it has resonated in our Western culture and societies whenever a major disaster strikes, and even today, it is still at the root of our fears about the future.

And yet, the etymology of this word of Greek origin means revelation, unveiling, a meaning taken up early by Christians. Apocalypse points not just to Judgement Day but also to redemption and future bliss.

Hence, in the Book of Revelation, which closes the New Testament, Saint John speaks of a veil being lifted over the timeless kingdom that will reunite believers in the heavenly Jerusalem. A word of hope designed to overcome our deepest fears.

The Exhibition

From the Middle Ages to the present day, the exhibition explores this imaginary world, showing some of the most prestigious manuscripts of the Apocalypse of John, rarely-seen fragments of the famous Angers hanging, and the famous
suite of engravings by Dürer devoted to the text, as well as numerous masterpieces from the Library’s collection: Paintings, sculptures, photographs, installations, rare books and film extracts.

Prestigious loans from the Centre Pompidou, Musée d’Orsay, British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum and others supplement the collections of BnF, creating a fascinating view of visualisations stemming from the last 2000 years.
The 300 works on show include works by William Blake, Odilon Redon, Vassily Kandinsky, Ludwig Meidner, Natalia Goncharova, Otto Dix, Antonin Artaud and Unica Zürn, as well as works by Kiki Smith, Tacita Dean, Miriam Cahn and Anne Imhof.

The section titled “The Book of Revelation” in the two galleries on the François Mitterrand site plunges visitors into the medieval manuscripts featuring the final text in the New Testament. It offers keys to interpreting the representations linked to the different episodes that make up the text, from the Seven Seals to the Last Judgement, thus highlighting the original meaning of the story: the positive framing of a blissful future rather than a tragic end. Of special interest is the impressive French collection of Spanish manuscripts from the 10th and 11th centuries, featuring some famous Beatus manuscripts acquired in the 1880s.

By exploring this complex and infinitely rich text, and exposing its visions and the multiple narratives that intertwine with them, the exhibition seeks to renew our understanding of this Christian message and this 2000-year-old story of Revelation.

Flamboyant illuminated manuscripts and major works – paintings, sculptures, drawings, stained glass windows and tapestries – bear witness to the importance and spread of this text and its iconography in the Middle Ages, while showing
how this imaginary world was consolidated and continues to influence our day.

The second part of the exhibition, entitled “The Time of Catastrophes”, is devoted to the fortunes of the Apocalypse in the arts, from Dürer to Brassaï, via the English apocalyptic tradition and German Expressionism. It points out that the text has given rise to works that rank among the masterpieces of the history of art, illustrating the tenacious and persistent fascination of artists – and through them, of humanity – for this narrative that combines plagues and the end of times with hope and the expectation of a new world.

Far from limiting itself to a catastrophist vision of the Apocalypse, conveyed by the post-apocalyptic genre in After”. literature,
film and comics, and returning to its original meaning, the exhibition also gives pride of place to the “Day of Awakening”.

This section presents a range of contemporary works, including some in monumental format, Otobong Nkanga, Abdelkader Benchamma, etc., which sketches out the day after the “Wrath of God” or the elements, conceiving the catastrophe as the prelude to a new world order.

FEATURED PHOTO:

Photo from the Exhibition, featuring the signature painting by Anne Imhof, Untitled, Oil on printed canvas – 2022, Paris, Pinault Collection – Courtesy of the artist, Spruethmagers and Galerie Buchholz. Photo: BnF Presse.

VISIT

04.02.2025 – 08.06.2025 Apocalypse – Hier et Demain
BnF François-Mitterrand, Paris, France

SOURCES

Press Release: Apocalypse. Hier et Demain

Bibliographie selective 2025

CATALOGUE:

Apocalypse: hier et demain
Ed. by Brun, Jeanne (dir.)
Exposition, Bibliothèque nationale de France, site François Mitterrand, Galeries 1 et 2, du 4 février au 8 juin 2025. Paris
BnF éditions, 2025. 240 p.