1482: the Portuguese navigator Diego Cão discovered the mouth of the Congo River and came into contact with the vast kingdom of the Kongo - a territory that includes today's Gabon, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo. The evangelisation of one of the most powerful monarchies on the African continent was rapidly implemented: the conversion of the ruling elites of this colonial empire marked the beginning of five centuries of Christianisation.

The exhibition presents around one hundred works of Christian inspiration (crucifixes, sculptures, pendants, engravings and drawings) from private and public collections in Europe. Introduced by Catholic missionaries, these objects, often surprising to our Western regards, show the relationships of power and influence from the colonial period to the 20th century, and the cultural interpretation at work. For although the influence of Christian iconography on Kongo art and culture is undeniable, it is its reinterpretation by local artists and, by extension, the transformation of Catholic practices into a religious syncretism that has made it one of the symbols of emancipation in the face of European domination.