The Comédie-Française at the Louvre-Lens

FREE

From 14 February to 7 December 2026, the Comédie-Française is visiting the Louvre-Lens. Presented in the museum’s Mezzanine space (-1), the exhibition recounts the creation and development of the little-known painting and sculpture collections of the House of Molière. With some twenty artworks, the presentation offers a new perspective on this important French theatre institution.

The Mezzanine space (-1), located opposite the Louvre-Lens depot, which you can visit, is the ideal place to explain the roles museums have played in the history of our contemporary societies, providing another outlook on current issues and/or unprecedented collections. This ambition, implemented by the Louvre-Lens, took shape in 2025, with the exhibition Icons from Ukraine, curated by Maximilien Durand, director of the Department of Byzantine and Eastern Christian Art at the Louvre Museum. Icons from Ukraine ended on 30 November 2025. The Comédie-Française will be at the Louvre-Lens for not quite a year and will take over the entire space (including the depot, where some artworks will be stored and presented). A cultural programme will also accompany the exhibition.

The Comédie-Française is the oldest active theatre in France. It was created in 1680 on the order of Louis XIV (King of France from 1643 to 1715). Also known as the “House of Molière”, it emerged from the fusion of three theatre troupes, including Molière’s, whose legacy it continues. It is quite unique, as it has three inseparable elements: a permanent troupe of actors, a repertoire of plays and a principle of alternating several plays, with weekly performances.

The Salle Richelieu, the main theatre space for the Comédie-Française, is in Paris, just five hundred metres from the Louvre. A prestigious venue for French theatre, the building houses a fine but little-known collection of art. A library-museum was created to promote this art heritage: it preserves the memory of the Comédie-Française, its history, archives and artworks.

In their own way, the Louvre-Lens and the Comédie-Française are both museums and share the same mission: preserving artworks, studying them, bringing them to life and making them accessible to all. The historic Salle Richelieu is being renovated over several months: part of the collection of the Comédie-Française is making an exceptional journey to the Louvre-Lens. The museum’s depot will also house artworks.

In a scenography inspired by theatre conventions, twenty or so paintings and sculptures accompany visitors as they discover the Comédie through the faces of those who have shaped it over the centuries: troupes, playwrights, actresses and actors.

The Louvre-Lens is a natural fit for this project of cultural decentralisation, helping to promote the history, heritage and missions of the Comédie-Française and support the democratisation of the performing arts, particularly for high school audiences.

Project curator: Marie Gord, head of research and documentation at the Louvre-Lens

Scenography: Mathis Boucher, architect-scenographer at the Louvre-Lens

This exhibition has been organised in partnership with the Comédie-Française and with the support of its sponsor, AG2R LA MONDIALE.