Raspal, Antoine - The Couturiers workshop - 1760

Jacques Réattu - Liberty Traveling the World

Musée Réattu (Reattu Museum) is an art museum in Arles, housing paintings, including works by Arles-born painter Jacques Réattu, drawings by

Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

, as well as sculptures and a large collection of photographs.Michelin Travel
Musée Réattu
It regularly holds exhibitions of contemporary art. Arles Tourism Office

History

Building

The museum is housed in the former Grand Priory of the Order of Malta (''Grand Prieuré de l'Ordre de Malte''), built in the late 15th century. Initially built as the seat of a commandry, it started housing Grand Priors in 1562, and became a Grand Priory in 1615, having jurisdiction over forty-eight commandries. In September 1792, a decree by the newly formed National Convention ordered the confiscation and the sale of all the possessions of the Order of Malta in France, and the Grand Priory was sold in parts in 1793. The building then was acquired in 27 parts between 1796 and 1827 by Jacques Réattu, who lived and worked there. Upon his death in 1833, Réattu's daughter Élisabeth Grange inherited the building and her father's collections. She sold both to the Municipality of Arles in 1867, in exchange of a pension, while retaining the right to live there. MUSEOFILE, French museums directory
Musée Réattu
/ref> Over time, in addition to the museum, the building has housed a mount of piety, a tobacco warehouse and a drawing school. The entire building has undergone a renovation from 1956 to 1964. It has been listed as a ''

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

'' since 1958. In 1991, the architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte led the redesign of the rooms dedicated to Picasso.

Museum

The Museum was officially created in 1868, initially featuring the collections and the works of Jacques Réattu. On February 24, 1888, Van Gogh who had moved to Arles three days earlier wrote about the museum in a letter to his brother Theo (original in French): "The women really are beautiful here, it's no joke — on the other hand, the Arles museum is dreadful and a joke, and fit to be in Tarascon — there's also a museum of antiquities, they're genuine." Somewhat less derogatory, the 1891 edition of a Baedeker Guide covering southern France read: "In the former ''Grand-Prieuré'' is the ''Musée Réattu'', a small picture gallery (many copies)." In 1901, the museum had six exhibition rooms. In the 1950s, at the time of the renovations of the building,

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...

began entering the collections. Initiated by Lucien Clergue and Jean-Maurice Rouquette in 1965, the foundation of the department of photography was the first of its kind in an arts museum in France. In 1971, Pablo Picasso donated 57 of his recent drawings to the Musée Réattu. Sound art began entering the collection in 2006. In 2008, an exhibition of the works of French fashion designer

Christian Lacroix Christian Marie Marc Lacroix (; born 16 May 1951) is a French fashion designer. The name may also refer to the company he founded. Lacroix's designs combine luxury and insouciance. He prefers artisanal trades, fringe, bead, and embroidery. He's ...

has attracted 120,000 visitors. The exhibition "Revoir Réattu" opened in November 2013.

Collections

The museum owns 800 paintings and drawings by Jacques Réattu. Twelve exhibition rooms are dedicated to his own works, his collections (mainly 17th century paintings), as well as works by friends, relatives and collaborators, like ''The Couturiers workshop'' painted by his uncle Antoine Raspal in the 1780s. Three rooms are dedicated to Picasso and one room to photography.Arles Tourism Office
Museums
The collections also include contemporary sculptures by César, Richier, Bourdelle,

Zadkine Ossip Zadkine (russian: Осип Цадкин; 28 January 1888 – 25 November 1967) was a Belarusian-born French artist. He is best known as a sculptor, but also produced paintings and lithographs. Early years and education Zadkine was born on ...

and modern paintings by Dufy,

Vlaminck Maurice de Vlaminck (4 April 1876 – 11 October 1958) was a French painter. Along with André Derain and Henri Matisse, he is considered one of the principal figures in the Fauve movement, a group of modern artists who from 1904 to 1908 w ...

and Prassinos, among others. The collection of photographs comprised over 4,000 works in 2001. Initial gifts by photographers including Richard Avedon, Cecil Beaton, Man Ray, Peter Beard,

Werner Bischof Werner Bischof (26 April 1916 – 16 May 1954) was a Swiss photographer and photojournalist. He became a full member of Magnum Photos in 1949, the first new photographer to join its original founders. Bischof's book ''Japan'' (1954) was awarded t ...

Izis Israëlis Bidermanas (17 January 1911 – 16 May 1980 in Paris), who worked under the name of Izis, was a Lithuanian-Jewish photographer who worked in France and is best known for his photographs of French circuses and of Paris. Biography Born i ...

, William Klein and Jean Dieuzaide, as well as by collectors, were followed from 1970 onwards by photographs donated by the artists attending the

Rencontres d'Arles The Rencontres d’Arles (formerly called ''Rencontres internationales de la photographie d’Arles'') is an annual summer photography festival founded in 1970 by the Arles photographer Lucien Clergue, the writer Michel Tournier and the historia ...

References

External links