The Villa Vauban is an art museum in

Luxembourg City Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the Lu ...

. It exhibits 18th- and 19th-century paintings acquired from private collections.

Background

Built in 1873 as a private residence, the villa owes its name to a fort built on the same site by

Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, Seigneur de Vauban, later Marquis de Vauban (baptised 15 May 163330 March 1707), commonly referred to as ''Vauban'' (), was a French military engineer who worked under Louis XIV. He is generally considered the ...

(1633–1707) as part of the city's defences. An impressive section of the old fortress wall can be seen in the museum's basement. The renovation work, completed in 2010, was planned by Philippe Schmit of the Luxembourg architectural firm Diane Heirent & Philippe Schmit. As a result of its innovative perforated copper cladding, the extension received the TECO Architecture Award in 2010. The museum is located in a park laid out by the French architect

Édouard André Édouard François André (17 July 1840 – 25 October 1911) was a French horticulturalist, landscape designer, as well as a leading landscape architect of the late 19th century, famous for designing city parks and public spaces in Lithuania, ...

(1840–1911), one of the leading landscape architects of his day.

History

Designed by city architect Jean-François Eydt, the residence was built by an Alsacian glove manufacturer, Gabriel Mayer, in a classical 19th-century style with a Neoclassical facade. It was located on a large plot which became available after the city's fortifications were demolished, providing room not only for the residence and its stables but also for an extensive French-style garden. In 1874, it was acquired by steel manufacturer Charles Joseph de Gargan before it came into the hands of the industrialist Norbert Le Gallais in 1912. After acquiring the villa in 1949, the City of Luxembourg adapted it for rental by the ECSC Court Of Justice. In 1959, it was converted once again in order to house the art collections which are still exhibited there today.

Grand Duke Jean Jean (Jean Benoît Guillaume Robert Antoine Louis Marie Adolphe Marc d'Aviano; 5 January 1921 – 23 April 2019) was the Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1964 until his abdication in 2000. He was the first Grand Duke of Luxembourg of French agnatic ...

and Grande Duchess Joséphine Charlotte lived there from 1991 to 1995 while renovation work was being carried out at the Palace.

Collections

The works exhibited at the Villa Vauban were originally part of three separate collections, all of which were bequeathed to the city. The first is that of

Jean-Pierre Pescatore Jean-Pierre Pescatore (11 March 1793 – 9 December 1855) was a Luxembourgish-French businessman, banker, art collector, and philanthropist. Early life Born in Luxembourg City as the fourth child of Dominique Pescatore, a merchant in the city, and ...

(1793–1855), who established himself as a wealthy banker in Paris. It is made up principally of 17th-century Dutch paintings, contemporary French works, as well as sculptures and drawings. The second, consisting mainly of 19th-century art, stems from Leo Lippmann (1808–1883), a banker and Consul General of Luxembourg in Amsterdam. The third collection, which once belonged to the pharmacist Jodoc Frédéric Hochhertz, comprises 18th century history paintings, still lifes and portraits. It was later inherited by Eugénie Dutreux-Pescatore (1810–1902). The

Dutch Golden Age painting Dutch Golden Age painting is the painting of the Dutch Golden Age, a period in Dutch history roughly spanning the 17th century, during and after the later part of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) for Dutch independence. The new Dutch Republ ...

s include works by

Cornelis Bega Cornelis Pietersz Bega, or ''Cornelis Pietersz Begijn'' (1631/32 – 27 August 1664) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and engraver. Bega was born, lived and worked in Haarlem and was the son of sculptor and goldsmith Pieter Jansz. Begijn. H ...

Gerrit Dou Gerrit Dou (7 April 1613 – 9 February 1675), also known as Gerard Douw or Dow, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, whose small, highly polished paintings are typical of the Leiden fijnschilders. He specialised in genre scenes and is noted for his '' ...

and

Jan Steen Jan Havickszoon Steen (c. 1626 – buried 3 February 1679) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, one of the leading genre painters of the 17th century. His works are known for their psychological insight, sense of humour and abundance of colour. Life ...

while

Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( , ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: Britis ...

Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier (; 21 February 181531 January 1891) was a French Classicist painter and sculptor famous for his depictions of Napoleon, his armies and military themes. He documented sieges and manoeuvres and was the teacher of É ...

and

Jules Dupré Jules Louis Dupré (April 5, 1811 – October 6, 1889) was a French painter, one of the chief members of the Barbizon school of landscape painters. If Corot stands for the lyric and Rousseau for the epic aspect of the poetry of nature, Dupré i ...

are among the artists who painted the 19th-century French works."Collections: Villa Vauban"
, ''Ville de Luxembourg''. Retrieved 31 October 2011.

References

{{authority control Art museums and galleries in Luxembourg 1873 establishments in Luxembourg Art museums established in 1959 Museums in Luxembourg City

Background

History

Collections

See also

References