The Musée Sainte-Croix is the largest

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

Poitiers Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglomerat ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Planned by the architect poitevin

Jean Monge Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Je ...

and built in 1974, it stands at the site of the former Abbaye Sainte-Croix, which was moved to Saint-Benoît, Vienne. It is a constructed of concrete and glass, in the 1970s style. The museum hosts a permanent exhibition on periods from

prehistory Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

to the contemporary art, through the

medieval period In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and the

Fine art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

s. Major works include sculptures of

Camille Claudel Camille Rosalie Claudel (; 8 December 1864 19 October 1943) was a French sculptor known for her figurative works in bronze and marble. She died in relative obscurity, but later gained recognition for the originality and quality of her work. The ...

and

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

, a reliquary vase from

Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe Saint-Savin (), also referred to as Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe (, literally ''Saint-Savin on Gartempe''), is a Communes of France, commune in the Vienne Departments of France, department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regions of France, region in western ...

, paintings by

Piet Mondrian Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (), after 1906 known as Piet Mondrian (, also , ; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), was a Dutch painter and art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He is known for being ...

and

Odilon Redon Odilon Redon (born Bertrand Redon; ; 20 April 18406 July 1916) was a French Symbolism (arts), symbolist painter, printmaker, Drawing, draughtsman and pastellist. Early in his career, both before and after fighting in the Franco-Prussian War, he ...

and the

stone sculpture A stone sculpture is an object made of stone which has been shaped, usually by carving, or assembled to form a visually interesting three-dimensional shape. Stone is more durable than most alternative materials, making it especially important in ...

of L'Âme de la France by

Charles Marie Louis Joseph Sarrabezolles Charles Marie Louis Joseph Sarrabezolles (27 December 1888 – 11 February 1971), also known as ''Carlo Sarrabezolles'' (or Charles or Charles-Marie), was a French sculptor. Life Sarrabezolles was born in Toulouse, studied at that city's École d ...

History

The first museum of the city of Poitiers was created in 1820. It then moved to the ground floor of the new town hall built at the end of the Second Empire. In 1947, a major donation by the Société des Antiquaires de l'Ouest considerably enriched the city's collections, regional archeology and numismatics being strengthened, as well as fine and decorative arts. The architect Jean Monge, winner of the

Prix de l'Équerre d'Argent The Prix d'architecture de l'Équerre d'argent (The Silver T-square Prize) is a French architecture award. This prize was launched in 1960 by "Architecture Française" magazine and its director Michel Bourdeau. It is given annually by Le Moniteu ...

for the city's university library of law and letters in 1973, was commissioned to build a new museum building. The museum opened on December 21, 1974, under the name of "Centre culturel Sainte-Croix". Since September 2015, its historical qualities of architecture have been recognized by the label "Heritage of the 20th century" awarded by the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: *Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) *Ministry of Culture (Algeria) *Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) *Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan) * Ministry of ...

. By 2019, the museum will have modern outsourced reserves in

Vouneuil-sous-Biard Vouneuil-sous-Biard (, literally ''Vouneuil under Biard'') is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. The Boivre river runs through it. Population See also *Communes of the Vienne department ...

, bringing together some 1.2 million objects listed in the museum's inventory, and thus freeing up more than 1,000 m2 of storage space exhibition inside the building. The permanent route will then be greatly enriched, among other things by the arrival of collections from the other municipal museum, the Rupert-de-Chièvres Museum, which has been closed since 2009. A three-year partnership between the City and

Institut national du patrimoine French national institute of cultural heritage, called Institut national du patrimoine (Inp), is the only academy in France in charge of the training of both curators and conservators. It belongs to French Ministry of Culture and is organized in ...

also provides for scientific, technical and professional cooperation in the fields of heritage conservation and restoration. File:Louis Gauffier 001.jpg, ''Le Repos de la Sainte Famille pendant la fuite en Égypte'',

Louis Gauffier Louis Gauffier (1762–1801) was a French painter. Born in Poitiers, he studied in Paris with the history painter Hughes Taraval before entering the Prix de Rome competition which he won in 1779 for ''Christ and the Woman of Canaan''. Apart from ...

, 1792. File:The Death of Hyacinthos.jpg, '' La Mort de ''Hyacinthe'',

Jean Broc Jean Broc (1771–1850) was a French neoclassical painter. His most famous work, '' The Death of Hyacinthos'', was completed in 1801. Hyacinthus was a young male beauty and lover of the god Apollo. One day, while playing with a discus, H ...

, 1801. File:Fromentin - Fantasia.jpg,

Eugène Fromentin Eugène Fromentin (24 October 182027 August 1876) was a French painter and writer, now better remembered for his writings. Life He was born in La Rochelle. After leaving school he studied for some years under Louis Cabat, the landscape painter. ...

, Une , Algérie, 1869 File:Ophélie de Léopold Burthe.jpg, '' Ophélie'', , (detail) 1851.

References

Art museums and galleries in France Local museums in France Museums in Vienne Buildings and structures in Poitiers Education in Poitiers Art museums established in 1974 Musee Sainte-Croix {{France-museum-stub