Once again this year, the Royal Abbey of Fontevraud offers a summer program for all audiences. To mark the bicentennial of photography, discover the exhibition "Chambre noire, toile blanche" ("Dark Room, White Canvas"), the family day "Tous Photographes!" ("Everyone's a Photographer!") on July 11, and Les Étoiles de Fontevraud, an immersive nighttime tour to discover the monument.

Exhibition "Chambre noire, toile blanche": photography facing painting: From June 6 to October 4, 2026

Since its invention, photography has maintained a close dialogue with painting, borrowing some of its codes, formats, and pursuits, while also deeply transforming artistic practices. The boundary between the two media proves porous. Photography quickly became more than just a tool or a mere rival to painting, just as painting did not remain indifferent to the emergence of the photographic image. Each observes, questions, and reinvents the other, in a constant interplay of aesthetic, conceptual, and material echoes.

Within this fruitful dialogue, and as the exhibition's subtitle indicates, Chambre noire, toile blanche presents photographic practices that look toward painting, setting aside the many pictorial approaches that incorporate photography into their creative process or embed photographic images onto painted surfaces. The exhibition takes a clear stance: the works and artists presented result from choices guided by their resonance with the permanent collection, by the evident character of the venues (museum, abbey church, great dormitory, residence of the Grand Prioress), and by the desire to show singular expressions rather than an encyclopedic overview.

Chambre noire, toile blanche offers a journey in several stages. The exhibition opens with a set of photographs connected to the artists in the museum's collection. It establishes dialogues with painting, further stimulated by the introduction of contemporary correspondences. The same principle continues with photographers from the 1920s to the 1950s, featuring the major figures who contributed to the medium's emancipation and their ties to painting. At the final stage, the relationship is reversed. The more contemporary photographs are presented in sections and groupings, among which a few paintings are inserted, always to shed light on the ever-evolving relationship between the two media. Finally, the exhibition also extends beyond the museum's walls, with often monumental works occupying different spaces of the abbey, thereby broadening the experience of both viewing and place.

Family Day "Tous Photographes!": Saturday, July 11, 2026, 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm

For the past three years, the Royal Abbey of Fontevraud has opened its doors wide to families for an exceptional, free, and festive day. It has become a not-to-be-missed event where children, teenagers, and adults explore together the temporary exhibitions of the Museum of Modern Art and the Royal Abbey, while enjoying creative workshops and performances inspired by the works on display.

This summer, the focus is on photography! To mark the bicentennial of photography, the exhibition Chambre noire, toile blanche: photography facing painting invites you to (re)discover the fascinating world of the image. A true dialogue between the arts, the exhibition will explore the connections between photography and painting through several thematic sections: photography as a tool, painted photography, animated painting… and many other surprising crossovers!

Throughout the afternoon, young and old alike will be able to experience photography in all its forms through varied, hands-on workshops: cyanotype, light painting, anaglyph, embroidery on photographs, having your portrait taken by a professional… So many original techniques to explore the image beyond preconceived ideas and reveal your creativity!

Young audiences (ages 3–5) will also be able to enjoy a concert/performance blending projected images and improvised music. The show will be followed by two workshops specially designed to gently extend the experience.

For those with a sweet tooth, a snack will be available throughout the afternoon.

Finally, four characters will wander among the workshops and interact with the audience: a photographer of yesteryear, an influencer, and other quirky figures, each inviting you in their own way to engage with the world of photography and to create a giant "family photo" during a quirky and humor-filled finale.

A free, creative, and inspiring day to experience as a family, in an exceptional setting!

Les Étoiles de Fontevraud: the immersive nighttime tour: From July 12 to August 23, 2026 (except Mondays)

From July 12 to August 23, 2026, the Royal Abbey of Fontevraud presents Les Étoiles de Fontevraud, an immersive nighttime tour inviting visitors to discover the monument from a new perspective. As night falls, the abbey is transformed by a combination of light creations, architectural projections, and soundscapes specially designed for the tour.

Guided by lantern light, visitors wander through several iconic spaces of the site: the Cour d'Honneur, the nave of the abbey church, the chevet, the Cour Saint-Benoît, the warming room, the cloister, and the refectory. Designed as a sensory experience accessible to all, the tour highlights Fontevraud's architecture while offering a contemporary approach to the monument.

Among the highlights of this edition, a new light installation takes place in the nave of the abbey church. Built around a succession of suspended luminous frames, this creation plays with the perspectives and volumes of the space to offer a renewed reading of the architectural setting.

As Vincent Rautureau puts it: "At Fontevraud, the nave becomes a stage, and the stone, a screen."

The tour is also punctuated each evening by live musical performances. Set up in the center of the cloister, a pianist offers several mini-concerts throughout the evening, creating a moment of pause and contemplation at the heart of the visit.

At the end of the tour, visitors are invited to extend the experience in the abbey's gardens with a glass of Saumur wine, included with the entrance ticket, in partnership with the Syndicat des Vins de Saumur and the Fédération Viticole Anjou Saumur.

With Les Étoiles de Fontevraud, the abbey confirms its commitment to offering a summer program blending heritage, contemporary creation, and immersive experience.