Congo has a bad reputation.

If the two countries sharing the name of Africa’s second- longest river, the (formerly French) Republic of the Congo and the (formerly Belgian) Democratic Republic of the Congo, pop up in the news, you can bet it’s about civil wars, refugees, abysmal poverty or shameless corruption. along the Fleuve Congo)

An anthropomorphic mask of the Fang tribe in Gabon. The work is on loan from a private collection for “Fleuve Congo,” the show at the Musee du Quai Branly. Photographer: Boris Veignant/Musee du Quai Branly via Bloomberg

“Fleuve Congo: Arts d’Afrique Centrale,” an exhibition at the Musee du Quai Branly in Paris, presents a more attractive image of that unfortunate region.


The Benedictine monk Francois Neyt, emeritus professor at the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, and curator of the show, spent more than 20 years in Africa. He casts his net wide. Besides the two countries mentioned, he includes ...