The Musée de Cluny holds one of the most tangible traces of the existence of Nicolas Flamel: his tombstone. Around this epitaph and archival documents, a history of Flamel emerges: that of a public scribe who was also a major donor to religious and charitable works and a shrewd real estate investor.
No mention of the philosopher's stone appears in these documents, and for good reason! The legend of Nicolas Flamel the alchemist only arose at the end of the 15th century, nearly 50 years after his death. Over the centuries, the rumour grew, and writings purportedly in his hand spread. Nicolas Flamel soon became a source of inspiration for artists and creators from all walks of life, right up to today, when popular culture has taken hold of the figure.
A figure of Parisian heritage, Nicolas Flamel still embodies today the fascination with lost knowledge, the margins of science, and the promises of the invisible. It is all these dimensions of the man and the legend that the exhibition explores.