Marseille: The “Good Mothers” exhibition at the Mucem dismantles the maternal myth

At the Mucem, “Good Mothers” dismantles the maternal myth

With "Good Mothers," on view until August 31, the Mucem in Marseille dedicates its spring exhibition to motherhood, not to idealize it, but to reveal its tensions, uses, and contradictions. Starting with the Marseilles figure of the "Good Mother," the institution broadens its scope to encompass all representations of the mother, from cult status and social injunction to symbolic power and very concrete realities.

An exhibition that cracks the image of the ideal mother

The exhibition brings together 350 works and objects from 20 countries around the Mediterranean, including 120 from the museum's collections, according to AFP. The collection explores religious, political, popular, and personal imaginaries to show how motherhood has been exalted, codified, appropriated, but also experienced in multiple ways.

The exhibition is careful not to confine women to a single image. In an interview with AFP, co-curator Anne-Cécile Mailfert points out that approaching motherhood from a feminist perspective requires vigilance, given how long it has functioned as an expectation imposed on women. This is the central theme of "Good Mothers": to reveal what lies behind the reassuring, sacred, or heroic figure of the mother.

The poster itself announces this shift. It features a Virgin and Child by the duo Pierre et Gilles, who subvert traditional iconography by placing it in a rougher, urban setting. This reinterpretation sets the tone for an exhibition that favors complexity over pious imagery.

From goddess to mother, from real bodies to contemporary struggles

The Mucem thus presents a very broad history of motherhood. Visitors encounter ancient goddesses, Christian virgins, patriotic mothers, but also works devoted to childbirth, fertility, assisted reproductive technology, abortion, mourning, and the passing on of traditions. According to AFP, the exhibition ranges from “mother goddesses” to more contemporary figures such as the “mater dolorosa” or protective, sometimes unsettling, mothers.

This diversity allows the body to be placed at the center: bodies glorified, monitored, exploited, or restricted. This is one of the most interesting aspects of the exhibition, which connects ancient myths to current debates on domestic workload, reproductive autonomy, and new forms of parenthood. The final section focuses on the legacy passed down between mothers, daughters, and sons, culminating in a “Good Mother CV” created through writing workshops, notably with incarcerated women, according to AFP.

By refusing to reduce motherhood to a sanitized and sacrificial model, Bonnes Mères offers less of a tribute than a vast critical deconstruction. And this is precisely what makes it a powerful exhibition: it finally restores to the maternal figure its full political, social, and human complexity.