Musée Des Beaux-Arts De Cambrai

The Musée de Cambrai (English: Cambrai Museum), also known as the Musée des Beaux-arts de Cambrai, is the main museum in the northern French city of Cambrai. He moved in 1893 into the Hôtel de Francqueville, which dates back to 1720 and was renovated and expanded in 1994.

It holds collections of archaeology, visual arts and local heritage. Of particular note among the holdings are works by Flemish and Dutch painters of the 17th century and French artists of the 19th and 20th centuries; a collection of osteoarchaeology which is unique in France. Great names in the history of art are represented at the Cambrai Museum (Auguste Rodin, Camille Claudel, James Tissot, Henri Matisse...), and the museum holds a very significant collection of geometric abstraction.

The Hôtel de Francqueville

Jean-Baptiste de Francqueville, Lord of Bourlon, had a mansion built between April 1719 and December 1720 in the Parisian style, with a courtyard and a garden. The use of French fashion is explained by Jean-Baptiste de Francqueville’s position as a royal advisor and secretary in a territory newly annexed to France. This mansion is located on a street with several older mansions.

The gate is adorned with sculpted elements typical of the decorative style from the end of the reign of Louis XIV and the Regency, opening onto a wide archway with vegetal motifs in bas-relief. This gate contrasts with the simplicity of the main building, which has three levels and alternates between brick and limestone, following the model of French classical architecture. Historically, the original entrance was through the spacious vestibule, which housed the grand staircase leading to the salons facing the garden.https://vpah-hauts-de-france.fr/ressources/lhotel-de-francqueville-le-musee-des-beaux-arts-cambrai/

The mansion is connected to the history of Cambrai. In 1816, it was requisitioned by the English army to accommodate the Duke of Wellington. The mansion was restored at the end of the 19th century in an eclectic style, which can still be seen in the ground-floor salons today.

When the wealthy industrialist Auguste Legrand bequeathed his mansion to the city of Cambrai in 1888 to display the collections of the municipal museum, the living spaces were adapted for this purpose, and a large brick salon was created to accommodate large-format works. In 1990, two modern wings were added to the mansion to expand the museum's spaces (storage, workroom, etc.).

History

The museum was created in 1847 to present to the public the remnants of the revolutionary seizures made in the old episcopal city of Cambrai. The museum was originally housed in the former offices of the National Guard located in the town hall. It was enriched in the following years by purchases, donations and deposits from the State. Among other items, the Musée de Cambrai received in 1863 forty-three pieces of Greek and Etruscan ceramics from the collection of the disgraced Italian art collector Giampietro Campana.

Between 1860 and 1870, the museum opened up to regional history (archaeology and lapidary). In 1865 the collections were transferred to the nuns' chapel and refectory of the former Saint-Julien hospital. The fine arts collections were enriched, and contemporary art was given a prominent place.

The substantial growth of the collections led to their transfer in 1893 to the Hôtel de Francqueville, one of the most beautiful mansions built in the 18th century in Cambrai. The wealthy industrialist Auguste Legrand had just bequeathed the building to the city to present the collections of the municipal museum, and the living rooms were appropriate for this function. The new museum, designed by the architect Veret, was inaugurated in the spring of 1893. The transfer of the museum to the Hôtel de Francqueville led to new acquisitions from the State and a series of donations. The most important was that of Ernest Delloye who donated the former collection of Mgr Belmas which had been entrusted to him (about two hundred objects: bronzes, art objects, porcelain, jewellery, paintings, etc.) and his own collection of a considerable number of documents and objects relating to the history of Cambrai.

During the First World War, the building was partially damaged and the museum lost much of its collections: in March 1918, a bomb had ripped open the roof and floors of the first floor and cracked the walls. One hundred and seventy-three paintings, eight sculptures and almost the entire Belmas collection were destroyed. In 1924 part of the museum was reopened, with an acquisition policy favouring artists from northern France who had won prizes at the Salon des artistes français before the war. The entire museum was reopened on 14 May 1933.. The contents of the museum were completely evacuated for safeguarding following the declaration of the Second World War. The museum was subsequently reopened in two stages: the first in August 1946, the second a year later.

Renovated and enlarged between 1989 and 1994 by the architects Jean-François Bodin and Thierry Germe, the Cambrai museum now integrates contemporary architectural design. The museum was redesigned and renovated again in 2018, and the collection was rehung. The collections are spread over four levels in a chronological route from prehistory to 20th century art.

Curators

Collections

Archaeological Department

In the two underground levels of the museum, archaeological collections are displayed. Great importance is given to local collections, particularly those from the Merovingian period, which are especially rich due to excavations on Rue des Vignes. These allow the presentation of the history of the occupation of the Cambrai region.

The museum also holds two sets outside of this local archaeology. The first is a collection of Etruscan pieces, including a sarcophagus, from the Campana collection. The second is an osteoarchaeology section, unique in France, which presents evidence provided by human remains to understand the lives of these people and their environment.

File:Musée cambrai couverte sarcophage etrusque 1.jpg, Etruscan collection
File:Musée cambrai galerie ostéo archéo 05.jpg, Ostéo-archéology
File:Musée cambrai galerie archéologie 01.jpg, Local Archéology

Heritage Department of

Cambrai.

This section allows visitors to immerse themselves in the history of the city and discover its evolution from the 12th to the 18th century. It displays objects and architectural remainsJacques Vanuxem, « Les sculptures du XIIe siècle conservées au Musée de Cambrai. », ''Bulletin de la Société nationale des Antiquaires de France'', vol. 1952, no 1, 1955, p. 78–79 that testify to Cambrai’s historical wealth and significance.

In this exhibit, the first section presents ancient architectural elements of Cambrai, such as those from the churches of Cambrésis, like the former Cambrai Cathedral or Honnecourt Church. Three column statues, likely from the former Saint Géry Church, are the most important pieces in this space. These elements are witnesses to Cambrai during the Romanesque period, before the fire that ravaged the city in the 12th century. From this period comes a remarkable depiction of Pyramus and Thisbe.

The second section of this department is dedicated to the former cathedral of the city, nicknamed the "wonder of the Netherlands". It explores this architecture and features portraits of important bishops of Cambrai such as Fénelon and Van der Burch. This space houses alabaster sculptures from the former cathedral.

The third section focuses on Cambrai in the 18th century after its annexation by France. The most spectacular object here is the procession carriage of the canonesses of Sainte-Aldegonde, dating from the 18th century. It was used for the processions of Sainte-Aldegonde in Maubeuge, a unique piece in French collections and a trace of a now-lost ephemeral heritage.Françoise Magny, ''Musée de Cambrai'' , Gand, 1997, 126 pages, The painting ''The Capture of Cambrai by Louis XIV in 1677'' by van der Meulen

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