The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon is a

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

fine arts In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...

opened in 1787, in

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is one of the main and oldest museums of France. It is located in the historic city centre of Dijon and housed in the former ducal palace which was the headquarters of the Burgundy State in the 15th century. When the duchy was assimilated to the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

, the palace became the house of the King. In the 17th century, it became the

Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy The Palace of the Dukes and Estates of Burgundy or ''Palais des ducs et des États de Bourgogne'' is a remarkably well-preserved architectural assemblage in Dijon. The oldest part is the 14th and 15th century Gothic architecture, Gothic ducal pa ...

following a project by

Jules Hardouin-Mansart Jules Hardouin-Mansart (; 16 April 1646 – 11 May 1708) was a French Baroque architect and builder whose major work included the Place des Victoires (1684–1690); Place Vendôme (1690); the domed chapel of Les Invalides (1690), and the Gra ...

. Since 2006, the museum has been in a process of full renovation and extension. First, the work focused on one part including the renovated route "Middle-Ages – Renaissance", inaugurated on 7 September 2013. The fully-renovated museum displaying 1500 works of art in 50 different rooms was inaugurated on 17 May 2019 in the presence of the Minister for Culture

Franck Riester Franck Alix Georges Riester (born 3 January 1974) is a French politician of Renaissance (French political party), Renaissance (RE). He has represented the Seine-et-Marne's 5th constituency, fifth constituency of Seine-et-Marne in the National A ...

, the former French President

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...

and the Mayor François Rebsamen. Attendance soared with 230,000 visitors recorded at the end of October to reach 315,000 at the end of 2019.

History of the museum

La salle des tombeaux vue depuis le balcon des musiciens

The museum was founded during the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...

on the order of the Estates of Burgundy on 30 November 1787, but the project dated from 1783, with the decision to build the eastern wing of the palace. The aim was to facilitate the teaching for the students of the art school by gathering works that could serve as models. This original school was free and open to everyone. It was created by François Devosge on 24 March 1767. The museum was placed under the protection of the Estates of Burgundy and presented its collections in the Salon Condé, conceived as a gallery of paintings to celebrate the glory of the Grand Condé's battles, and in the Statues Room or "Room of the Antiques" where copies of plaster and marble antiques could be found. It is known for its collections in relation with the dukes of Burgundy, for the richness of its encyclopedic collections stretching from Egyptian art to the 20th century as well as the historical interest of the building that holds them, the Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy. The museum opened its doors to the public in 1799, and gradually spread out within the palace being enriched by imperial grants, deposits by the State, donations and legacies. As one of the largest museums of France, le Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon is known for its rich collections of sculptures, paintings, art objects and various other items from the past. Those interested in a specific historical age can admire various stunning items from Antiquity,

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

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

as well as masterpieces stretching from the 17th century to the 21st century. Among the attractions of the museum, you can find the tombs of Philippe le Hardi and Jean sans Peur, a collection of German and Swiss primitives (the most important in France) and a collection of French paintings, rich in artists dating back to the time of

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

, not forgetting the collection of

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

. The museum also holds extra-European collections, such as ceramic and

Islamic glass Islamic glass is glass made in the Islamic world, especially in periods up to the 19th century. It built on pre-Islamic cultures in the Middle East, especially ancient Egyptian, Persian and Roman glass, and developed distinct styles, character ...

es, weapons and oriental caskets, ancient ivories of Africa, everyday objects and African ceremonial masks, Chinese and Japanese porcelains, Korean stoneware, Tibetan and Indian sculptures and pre-Columbian ceramics.

Artworks

The museum holds a large and varied collection of art: * Various remains of the lavish court of the Dukes of Burgundy, including the famous tombs of Philip the Bold, John the Fearless and

Margaret of Bavaria Margaret of Bavaria (1363 – 23 January 1424, Dijon) was List of Burgundian royal consorts, Duchess of Burgundy by marriage to John the Fearless. She was the regent of the Burgundian Low Countries during the absence of her spouse in 1404–1419 ...

with their ''mourners'' from the Chartreuse of Champmol. * A collection of Egyptian antiquities with a rare series of Fayum mummy portraits * A collection of Roman art from Switzerland and Germany unique in France * Some famous works from the Renaissance, 17th and 18th centuries, including works by Melchior Broederlam, Verrocchio, Robert Campin (known as the Master of Flémalle), Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Lorenzo Lotto,

Titian Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno. Ti ...

, Jacopo Pontormo,

Paolo Veronese Paolo Caliari (152819 April 1588), known as Paolo Veronese ( , ; ), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of religion and mythology, such as ''The Wedding at Cana (Veronese), The Wedding ...

, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Guido Reni, Georges de La Tour,

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of clas ...

, Philippe de Champaigne,

Charles Le Brun Charles Le Brun (; baptised 24 February 1619 – 12 February 1690) was a French Painting, painter, Physiognomy, physiognomist, Aesthetics, art theorist, and a director of several art schools of his time. He served as a court painter to Louis XIV, ...

, Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Hubert Robert * A balanced representation of different currents of 19th century, and a significant body of work of the sculptor Pompon * A section of modern art including Granville gift: Théodore Géricault, Eugène Boudin,

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French Modernism, modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism (art movement), R ...

, Alfred Sisley, Georges Braque, Juan Gris, Georges Rouault * Representative works of the

school of Paris The School of Paris (, ) refers to the French and émigré artists who worked in Paris in the first half of the 20th century. The School of Paris was not a single art movement or institution, but refers to the importance of Paris as a centre o ...

from 1950 to 1970, with Charles Lapicque, Vieira da Silva, Nicolas de Staël

Selected collection highlights

File:Portrait d’homme barbu.jpg, '' Fayum mumy portrait'' File:Philip the good.jpg,

Rogier van der Weyden Rogier van der Weyden (; 1399 or 140018 June 1464), initially known as Roger de le Pasture (), was an Early Netherlandish painting, early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commis ...

, '' Portrait of Philip the Good'', 1450 File:Dijon Musée fontette.jpg, ''Funerary monument of Antoinette de Fontette'', 16th century File:Lorenzo Lotto 045.jpg, Lorenzo Lotto, ''Portrait of a Woman'', c.1505. File:Jacopo Pontormo 045.jpg, Jacopo Carucci Pontormo, '' Saint John the Baptist '', c.1515. File:Tizian 040.jpg,

, ''The Virgin, the Child, Saint Agnes and Saint John the Baptist'', mid-16th c. File:Veronese The finding of Moses mg 1713.jpg,

, ''The finding of Moses'', 1713 File:Jan I Brueghel-Caste of Mariemont mg 1707.jpg, Jan Brueghel the Elder, '' Château of Mariemont'', 1612 File:Le souffleur à la lampe Georges de la Tour.jpg, Georges de La Tour, ''The Blower with a lamp'', 1649 File:Tiepolo - Educazione-della-vergine - Digione.jpg, Giambattista Tiepolo, ''The Education of the Virgin'', c.1720-1722 File:Japonaise au bain James Tissot 1864.jpg,

James Tissot Jacques Joseph Tissot (; 15 October 1836 – 8 August 1902), better known as James Tissot ( , ), was a French painter, illustrator, and caricaturist. He was born to a drapery merchant and a milliner and decided to pursue a career in art at a y ...

, ''The Japanese at the bath'', 1864 File:Claude Monet-Etretat the Aval door fishing boats leaving the harbour mg 1819.jpg,

, ''Etretat the Aval door: fishing boats leaving the harbour'', 1885

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaux-Arts de Dijon, Musee des

Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon is a museum of fine arts opened in 1787, in Dijon, France. It is one of the main and oldest museums of France. It is located in the historic city centre of Dijon and housed in the former ducal palace which was ...

1787 in art Art museums and galleries established in the 1780s Museums established in 1787 Egyptological collections in France FRAME Museums Art museums and galleries in France Museums in Dijon