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Exhibitions
Discover the Museum calendar
Current exhibitions
Sensing the Buddha
Mariemont unveils its Asian treasures, bringing you a truly unique exhibition that invites you to immerse yourself completely in the world of Buddhism.
We are all familiar with the iconic Buddha. We see it in many forms, sometimes as a simple decorative piece but also as a symbol of zen or an idealised Asia. But what do we really know about the images relating to this fascinating figure? What stories do they tell? Have they retained their spirituality? How do Buddhists perceive them?
To illustrate the full diversity of Buddha iconography, Mariemont presents around 100 works from its Asian collections, some of them brought out from storage after more than 65 years specially for this occasion.
“Sensing the Buddha” is more than an exhibition. It brings you face-to face with Buddhist art in a truly unique way. Take it all in. Stop, get as close as you can and observe. Become one with the calm and peaceful visual representations around you. Find out about Buddhist practices, gestures and meditation. A singular self-immersive experience combining history, discovery, art and the senses.
Upcoming exhibitions
Mary of Hungary. Art & Power in the Renaissance
This fall, the Domain & Royal Museum of Mariemont presents the vibrant episodes of an unparalleled imperial succession. The exhibition “Mary of Hungary. Art & Power in the Renaissance” delves into the successful tactics devised by a queen well-known in the region and her family clan.
In the mid-16th century, Charles V, emperor and head of the House of Habsburg, extended his power over much of Europe. This dominance was nevertheless fragile, forcing the sovereign to adopt strategies to reinforce his power. One such strategy was to prepare his succession in favor of his son, the future Philip II. In light of these dynastic and political challenges, Mary of Hungary, the emperor's sister, affirmed herself as a fine strategist.
The exhibition retraces the epic propaganda program conducted by Mary of Hungary and her entourage between 1539 and 1559. Combining prestige and majesty, she orchestrated a skillful apparatus servicing the imperial nucleus, thus impacting, through her actions, the course of art and the lines of European territories. A true woman of power and innovation, she called on influential artists from Italy, planned a dazzling tour to present the heir, organized the military defense of the Low Countries and ordered the construction of a palace in Binche and of a vast hunting estate in Mariemont.
From 22 November 2025 to 10 May 2026 "Mary of Hungary. Art & Power in the Renaissance" plunges into the origins of Mariemont to reach the heart of 16th-century Europe through one of the most important historical outcomes of the Renaissance!
The exhibition is produced in partnership with the KU Leuven, is part of the Europalia España festival programme (08.10.2025 - 01.02.2026) and is under the Patronage of Her Majesty the Queen.
The exhibition features four immersive reconstructions of Renaissance art, architecture and music, produced as part of the MARY4ALL digital mediation innovation project, co-funded by the European Union's Creative Europe programme. The project aims to combine heritage and digital technologies to enhance our understanding of history.
Past exhibitions
The Amis de Mariemont. A Story of Passion
From 16 December 2023 to 18 August 2024
From treasure to treasure, ‘The Friends of Mariemont. History of a passion’ presents the collective “work” of the Royal Circle of Friends of Mariemont. Through the various items on display, some of which are being shown for the first time, the exhibition recounts the highlights, the founding gestures and the emblematic figures of the Cercle through the ages. It traces 90 years of shared history between the Royal Museum of Mariemont and its association.
A new audio tour of the permanent sections will also enable visitors to (re)discover the diversity of works acquired and donated by the association.
As well as celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Cercle, this exhibition is also intended as a thank-you to all those passionate men and women, past, present and future, for their deep attachment to the Royal Museum of Mariemont.
Mari in Syria. A City Reborn in the 3rd Millennium
From 16 September 2023 to 07 January 2024
Embark on a journey to the Near East in the 3rd millennium BC, with the exhibition Mari in Syria produced by the Louvre museum and the National and University Library of Strasbourg and the Royal Museum of Mariemont. From palaces to temples, gods to guardians, discover the fascinating history of an ancestral city – alternating destruction and reconstruction, safeguarding and revival – which will take you back to one of the cradles of civilization.
Through archival images, film documentaries and numerous treasures of stone, copper, brick and paint, this exhibition invites you to follow the explorations of excavators such as Parrot, Dossin, Margueron and Butterlin.
A true human and archaeological adventure spanning across 100 years!
Egypt. Everlasting passion
From 24 September 2022 to 16 April 2023
For 2,000 years, Egypt has been a passion! It never ceases to attract us, intrigue us, inspire us and make us dream. Why are we so enchanted by the land of the Pharaohs? What forms does this passion take?
With its exhibition Egypt. Everlasting Passion, Mariemont invites you to discover a different Egypt. You won't be seeing Egyptian antiquities, but works that reflect the fantasies generated in the West by the Egypt of the Pharaohs.
Without us always realising it, our lives are strewn with references that have their roots in the Nile Valley: artistic creations and video games, travelogues and children's toys, interior decorations and masterpieces from Europe's great museums are all brought together. By recreating everyday spaces (a living room, a games room, a library, a garden), the exhibition offers you a face-to-face encounter, sometimes intimate, with a revisited Egypt.
Virtual tours
Offering you access to the works is one of the prerogatives of the Museum, whose missions are focused on research and sharing. These virtual creations mark a new stage in the life of the Museum, providing cutting-edge technology to serve a purpose.
This is a new cultural offering that doesn't replace the physical experience, the aura of the works of art or human mediation, but offers an in-depth, long-term and immersive way of discovering them, and allows exhibitions to circulate after their closure and across borders.