Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen
Encyclopedia
The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen is a fine arts museum in the French city of Caen
, founded at the start of the 19th century and rebuilt in 1971 within the ducal château
.
selected 15 cities to serve as depots to display a large amount of paintings confiscated from émigrés or acquired through the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Although the city of Caen was chosen for its academic reputation and character as cultural capital of Normandy
, it showed, at first, little enthusiasm because article 4 of the Chaptal decree specified that "the paintings will be sent only after the town has effected the expense for a gallery suitable to receive them". The paintings removed from churches and religious communities during the Revolution having already been stockpiled in the Sainte-Catherine-des-Arts church, the mayor Daigremont St. Manvieux first thought of installing the museum in the former Jesuit church. But on October 27, 1801, the decision was finally made to use the left wing of the former Eudist seminary, already partly occupied by the mayoralty since 1792. On October 27th 1802, the prefect of Calvados asked for the title of museum commissioner to be conferred to François-Pierre Fleuriau, a highly ranked design instructor at the Central School of Calvados. To augment the already existing collections, the new curator selected, in 1804, 46 paintings by various artists (Veronese
, Poussin
,…). This made the Caen collections the largest ones after those of Lyon. The curator also expended the new collections, even trying, although unsuccessfully, to have the Bayeux Tapestry
transferred to Caen.
The development work of the museum progressed very slowly. In 1806, the prefect Charles Ambroise de Caffarelli du Falga, disallowed the appropriations voted by the municipality for resumption of the work that had been interrupted. Only once the funds were released in the budget of 1809 could the project can be completed. In November 1809, the paintings that had been stored in the former Jesuit church were transferred and the museum was officially opened on December 2, 1809. The curator was also in charge of the municipal art school founded in 1804.
. Elouis then hid the most important paintings. According to legend, he hid in particular Abraham and Melchizedek by Rubens under the very dinner table used by Prussia
n officers. After the Prussians had left the city following the restitution of lesser paintings, Belgium
then asked for the return of paintings by great Brussels
masters, but the curator and mayor of Caen, the count of Vandœuvre, were able to stem the new crisis.
The second half of the nineteenth century was a calmer period that favored the study of collections. In 1837, Bernard Mancel wrote the first catalog, and the first monograph concerning to the collections was published in 1850. While the acquisition policy of Alfred Guillard, the successor of Elouis from 1841 to 1880, was rather uninspired, a series of bequests endowed the museum with a hundred additional artworks. The Baroness de Montaran's, which included three paintings by Boucher
, twenty Gudin and one Mignard
, was the most remarkable bequest of the second half of the nineteenth century.
The largest donation in the history of the museum was bequeathed in 1872 by the Caen bookseller Bernard Mancel, who had purchased in1845 a large part of Cardinal Fesch, the uncle of Napoleon I in Rome's collection. The Mancel collection included more than 50,000 works: prints by Dürer
, Rembrandt and Callot
, and about thirty paintings by Perugino (The Marriage of the Virgin), Veronese (Temptation of St. Anthony) or Rogier van der Weyden (The Virgin and Child). A year later, the family of colonel Langlois
bequeathed 256 paintings of battles and military views. These paintings were transferred in 1888 to the Pavillon des sociétés savantes, which had been remodeled at the expense of colonel Langlois' niece to house the museum.
, Boudin
and Lepine
, modern, especially impressionist
artwork remained virtually unrepresented at the museum.
While other cities built large museums to house their collections, the Caen museum remained cramped in a wing of City Hall. The structure was in a precarious state and on November 3, 1905, part of the collections went up in flames. Several works from the Dutch and Flemish schools were lost as well as The Battle of Hastings by François Debon
. Partly because it represented the Norman victory over the English during a context of high international tension, partly because of its romantic design, this particular painting enjoyed a certain popularity, and the fire caused a scandal. Local and national newspapers called for museum reorganization. The town council then agreed on "the principle of the construction of a museum housed in a dedicated site in the conditions of security and lighting a museum as wealthy as ours is entitled to ask for". The councilors planned on organizing a lottery to build a new museum on the terrace of the Place de la Prefecture (now Place Gambetta), but the idea was quickly abandoned and the museum remains in a precarious state.
was appointed as curator. From 1936, he undertook a restoration of the museum and improved the lighting of the works. When his work was interrupted by the war in 1939, 360 paintings, the collection Mancel, the Bernard van Riesen Burgh chest and other artifacts were transferred to the priory of Saint-Gabriel, the abbey of Mondaye and the castle of Baillou. The collections went largely unharmed through Nazi occupation when on June 7, 1944, the old seminary was mostly destroyed by the Allies. On July 7, the last Allied air raid flattened what was still left standing. 540 paintings (the nineteenth-century collections, and many anonymous seventeenth-century works), the 400 drawings of the cabinet of drawings, archives, inventories, and frames were lost forever. Much of the Langlois museum was bombed too, and half of the exhibited works were lost as well.
Starting on February 1, 2005, access to permanent exhibitions was made free of charge in order to democratize access to culture. The museum has also diversified its cultural stance by organizing workshops for younger audiences and adults. The museum also accommodates, since 1997, Les Cyclopes, a Baroque musical ensemble that gives an annual series of concerts in conjunction with the institution's cultural programming. Likewise, Michel Onfray
's Université populaire de Caen
holds some of its seminars at the museum.
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
, founded at the start of the 19th century and rebuilt in 1971 within the ducal château
Château de Caen
The Château de Caen is a castle in the French town of Caen in the Calvados département . It has been officially classed as a Monument historique since 1886.-History:...
.
Opening
On September 1, 1801, the Minister of Interior Jean-Antoine ChaptalJean-Antoine Chaptal
Jean-Antoine Claude, comte Chaptal de Chanteloup was a French chemist and statesman. He established chemical works for the manufacture of the mineral acids, soda and other substances...
selected 15 cities to serve as depots to display a large amount of paintings confiscated from émigrés or acquired through the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Although the city of Caen was chosen for its academic reputation and character as cultural capital of Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, it showed, at first, little enthusiasm because article 4 of the Chaptal decree specified that "the paintings will be sent only after the town has effected the expense for a gallery suitable to receive them". The paintings removed from churches and religious communities during the Revolution having already been stockpiled in the Sainte-Catherine-des-Arts church, the mayor Daigremont St. Manvieux first thought of installing the museum in the former Jesuit church. But on October 27, 1801, the decision was finally made to use the left wing of the former Eudist seminary, already partly occupied by the mayoralty since 1792. On October 27th 1802, the prefect of Calvados asked for the title of museum commissioner to be conferred to François-Pierre Fleuriau, a highly ranked design instructor at the Central School of Calvados. To augment the already existing collections, the new curator selected, in 1804, 46 paintings by various artists (Veronese
Paolo Veronese
Paolo Veronese was an Italian painter of the Renaissance in Venice, famous for paintings such as The Wedding at Cana and The Feast in the House of Levi...
, Poussin
Poussin
Poussin refers to:*Charles Jean de la Vallée-Poussin Belgian mathematician*Charles-Louis-Joseph-Xavier de la Vallée-Poussin Belgian geologist and mineralogist, father of Charles Jean*Nicolas Poussin , French painter...
,…). This made the Caen collections the largest ones after those of Lyon. The curator also expended the new collections, even trying, although unsuccessfully, to have the Bayeux Tapestry
Bayeux Tapestry
The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered cloth—not an actual tapestry—nearly long, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England concerning William, Duke of Normandy and Harold, Earl of Wessex, later King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings...
transferred to Caen.
The development work of the museum progressed very slowly. In 1806, the prefect Charles Ambroise de Caffarelli du Falga, disallowed the appropriations voted by the municipality for resumption of the work that had been interrupted. Only once the funds were released in the budget of 1809 could the project can be completed. In November 1809, the paintings that had been stored in the former Jesuit church were transferred and the museum was officially opened on December 2, 1809. The curator was also in charge of the municipal art school founded in 1804.
Development and first monographs
Starting from 1811, the new curator, Henry Elouis augmented the collections, notably thanks to a new collection of 35 paintings attributed by the Ministry of the Interior. In 1815, the Prussians camped in the ground floor of the old Eudist seminary to force the surrender of paintings confiscated in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Elouis then hid the most important paintings. According to legend, he hid in particular Abraham and Melchizedek by Rubens under the very dinner table used by Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n officers. After the Prussians had left the city following the restitution of lesser paintings, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
then asked for the return of paintings by great Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
masters, but the curator and mayor of Caen, the count of Vandœuvre, were able to stem the new crisis.
The second half of the nineteenth century was a calmer period that favored the study of collections. In 1837, Bernard Mancel wrote the first catalog, and the first monograph concerning to the collections was published in 1850. While the acquisition policy of Alfred Guillard, the successor of Elouis from 1841 to 1880, was rather uninspired, a series of bequests endowed the museum with a hundred additional artworks. The Baroness de Montaran's, which included three paintings by Boucher
François Boucher
François Boucher was a French painter, a proponent of Rococo taste, known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories representing the arts or pastoral occupations, intended as a sort of two-dimensional furniture...
, twenty Gudin and one Mignard
Pierre Mignard
Pierre Mignard , called "Le Romain" to distinguish him from his brother Nicolas Mignard, was a French painter...
, was the most remarkable bequest of the second half of the nineteenth century.
The largest donation in the history of the museum was bequeathed in 1872 by the Caen bookseller Bernard Mancel, who had purchased in1845 a large part of Cardinal Fesch, the uncle of Napoleon I in Rome's collection. The Mancel collection included more than 50,000 works: prints by Dürer
Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer was a German painter, printmaker, engraver, mathematician, and theorist from Nuremberg. His prints established his reputation across Europe when he was still in his twenties, and he has been conventionally regarded as the greatest artist of the Northern Renaissance ever since...
, Rembrandt and Callot
Jacques Callot
Jacques Callot was a baroque printmaker and draftsman from the Duchy of Lorraine . He is an important figure in the development of the old master print...
, and about thirty paintings by Perugino (The Marriage of the Virgin), Veronese (Temptation of St. Anthony) or Rogier van der Weyden (The Virgin and Child). A year later, the family of colonel Langlois
Jean-Charles Langlois
Jean-Charles Langlois, known as The Colonel was a French soldier and painter.-Biography:Langlois was born in Beaumont-en-Auge...
bequeathed 256 paintings of battles and military views. These paintings were transferred in 1888 to the Pavillon des sociétés savantes, which had been remodeled at the expense of colonel Langlois' niece to house the museum.
Decline in prestige in the 1880s
In 1880, the acquisition policy by the new curators, Xenophon Hellouin and Gustave Ménégoz, was uninspired, and the prestige of the museum waned. Under the influence of mayoralty of Caen, the curators acquired mostly regional works with exclusive local interest, now exhibited on the ground floor of the old Eudist seminary set up as a museum of Norman art and history. Donations became less frequent, and often consisted of minor works bequeathed more for ostentatious reasons than for the sake of art. Despite the bequest by the mayor Fervaques, Dr. Jacquette, of paintings by CourbetCourbet
Courbet may refer toPeople* Amédée Courbet , a French admiral* Félicien Courbet , a Belgian water polo player and breaststroke swimmer who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics* Gustave Courbet , a French painterships...
, Boudin
Boudin
Boudin describes a number of different types of sausage used in French, Belgian, German, French Canadian, Creole and Cajun cuisine.-Types:*Boudin blanc: A white sausage made of pork without the blood. Pork liver and heart meat are typically included...
and Lepine
Lepine
-People:* Alfred Lépine , Canadian ice hockey player* Ambroise-Dydime Lépine , Canadian aboriginal leader* Hector Lepine , Canadian ice hockey player* Jean-Antoine Lépine , French clock and watchmaker...
, modern, especially impressionist
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
artwork remained virtually unrepresented at the museum.
While other cities built large museums to house their collections, the Caen museum remained cramped in a wing of City Hall. The structure was in a precarious state and on November 3, 1905, part of the collections went up in flames. Several works from the Dutch and Flemish schools were lost as well as The Battle of Hastings by François Debon
François Debon
François Hyppolite Debon , was a French painter. He studied under Antoine-Jean Gros and Abel de Pujol, and exhibited at the Paris Salon, where he won several medals, including a third class one in 1844 and two second class ones in 1835 and 1868...
. Partly because it represented the Norman victory over the English during a context of high international tension, partly because of its romantic design, this particular painting enjoyed a certain popularity, and the fire caused a scandal. Local and national newspapers called for museum reorganization. The town council then agreed on "the principle of the construction of a museum housed in a dedicated site in the conditions of security and lighting a museum as wealthy as ours is entitled to ask for". The councilors planned on organizing a lottery to build a new museum on the terrace of the Place de la Prefecture (now Place Gambetta), but the idea was quickly abandoned and the museum remains in a precarious state.
Destruction in 1944
In 1934, Louis-Edouard GarridoLouis-Edouard Garrido
-Biography:Louis Edouard Garrido was a French painter, the son of Spanish artist Leon Eduardo Garrido. Established in Normandy, Louis-Edouard Garrido painted superb landscapes in the area of Saint-Vaast, as well as portraits and still-lfes. The artist has been the director of the Beaux Arts school...
was appointed as curator. From 1936, he undertook a restoration of the museum and improved the lighting of the works. When his work was interrupted by the war in 1939, 360 paintings, the collection Mancel, the Bernard van Riesen Burgh chest and other artifacts were transferred to the priory of Saint-Gabriel, the abbey of Mondaye and the castle of Baillou. The collections went largely unharmed through Nazi occupation when on June 7, 1944, the old seminary was mostly destroyed by the Allies. On July 7, the last Allied air raid flattened what was still left standing. 540 paintings (the nineteenth-century collections, and many anonymous seventeenth-century works), the 400 drawings of the cabinet of drawings, archives, inventories, and frames were lost forever. Much of the Langlois museum was bombed too, and half of the exhibited works were lost as well.
Rebirth in 1971
The surviving works were hastily stored in the unsound ruins of the hotel Escoville and the Langlois museum. In 1963, it became possible again to think about rebuilding the museum. Collections were inventoried and, in addition to the Mancel collection, 567 paintings and miniatures, ceramics and porcelain were identified. 1971 saw the inauguration of the new museum built by Jean Merlet in the castle of Caen. Meanwhile, Francoise Debaisieux, the new curator embarked on an ambitious acquisition policy, focusing on the seventeenth-century French, Italian and Flemish schools. Her policy was sustained by the Louvre depots. In 1982, the museum was promoted to the rank of "musée classé", in recognition of the importance of the collections and the vitality of the policy that enriched them. In 1988, Francoise Debaisieux was succeeded by Alain Tapie who organized major exhibitions and added in 1994 a new wing built by Philippe Dubois. The new curator expanded the collections by acquiring contemporary works. Following this extension, the Ministry of Culture presented the museum with the Grand Prix National des Musées in 1995, in recognition for its architecture and program. Since 2007, the museum had been at the center of the Parc des Sculptures, housed in the castle, at the initiative of Patrick Ramade, chief curator, and museum director since 2004.Starting on February 1, 2005, access to permanent exhibitions was made free of charge in order to democratize access to culture. The museum has also diversified its cultural stance by organizing workshops for younger audiences and adults. The museum also accommodates, since 1997, Les Cyclopes, a Baroque musical ensemble that gives an annual series of concerts in conjunction with the institution's cultural programming. Likewise, Michel Onfray
Michel Onfray
Michel Onfray is a contemporary French philosopher who adheres to hedonism, atheism and anarchism...
's Université populaire de Caen
Université populaire de Caen
The Université populaire de Caen is a free university created in October 2002 by Michel Onfray in the north-western French city of Caen. functions on a guiding principle of exemption from fees. Access to the Popular University does not require any academic qualifications, and is open to all...
holds some of its seminars at the museum.
Collections
The museum offers 64583 square feet (6,000 m²) of space dedicated to the public collections with many works of Italian and Flemish, as well as French Renaissance, and of contemporary art. The prints from the Mancel collection are presented in a 400-m² room. The museum is equipped with a conference room seating 230, used notably by the Université populaire de Caen. Finally, the curatorial library, comprising over 20,000 art history volumes, is open to the public.Paintings destroyed in 1944
- Jacques-Antoine BeaufortJacques-Antoine BeaufortJacques Antoine Beaufort was an 18th century academic French painter. Little is known of his early life but he had his first public exhibition at the Marseille Academy in 1756, where he taught drawing, and later at the Paris Salon...
(1721-1784), The Death of Calamus or Calamus Going up the Stake in the Presence of Alexander, Salon of 1779.
14th to 16th Century
| Author | Work | Date | Type | Dimension | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnaba da Modena Barnaba da Modena Barnaba da Modena was an Italian painter of the mid-14th century Lombardy. There is a painting by him in the church of San Francesco in Alba. A Virgin and Child once in Frankfort, was painted in a Byzantine style and is currently located at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston,... |
Crucifixion with the Virgin and St. John | Between 1361 and 1383 | Wood with cut sections | 0,675 x 0,640 | |
| Cosme Tura | Saint Jacques | Panel | 75,1 x 40,9 | ||
| Perugino | Saint Jerome in the Desert | Vers 1499-1502 | Panel | 89,3 x 72,5 | |
| id. | The Marriage of the Virgin (or Sposalizio) | Between 1500 and 1504 | Panel | 236 x 186 | |
| Cima da Conegliano Cima da Conegliano Giovanni Battista Cima, also called Cima da Conegliano was an Italian Renaissance painter.-Biography:Giovanni Battista Cima was born at Conegliano, now part of the province of Treviso, in 1459 or 1460... |
The Virgin and Child with Saint George and Saint Jacques | Ca. 1510-1511 | Triptych on panel, transposed on canvas | 137 x 61 (central panel) et 121 x 44,5 (side panels) | |
| Andrea del Sarto Andrea del Sarto Andrea del Sarto was an Italian painter from Florence, whose career flourished during the High Renaissance and early Mannerism. Though highly regarded during his lifetime as an artist senza errori , his renown was eclipsed after his death by that of his contemporaries, Leonardo da Vinci,... |
Saint Sebastian holding two arrows and the palm of martyrdom | Wood (poplar) | 0,839 x 0,680 | ||
| Taddeo Zuccari Taddeo Zuccari Taddeo Zuccari was an Italian painter, one of the most popular members of the Roman mannerist school.-Biography:... |
The Beheading of St. John the Baptist | 1555-1560 | Canvas | 66 x 51 | |
| Rogier van der Weyden | The Virgin and Child | Panel | 51,5 x 33,5 | ||
| Pieter Brueghel the Younger Pieter Brueghel the Younger Pieter Brueghel the Younger /ˈpitəɾ ˈbɾøːxəl/ was a Flemish painter, known for numerous copies after his father Pieter Brueghel the Elder's paintings and nicknamed "Hell Brueghel" for his fantastic treatments of fire and grotesque imagery.-Life:Pieter Brueghel the Younger was the oldest son of the... |
The Payment of tithing (or The Numbering in Bethlehem) | Panel | 110 x 160 | ||
| Master de Hoogstraten | The Virgin and Child with Saint Catherine, Saint Madeleine and Saint Barbara | 1510 | Wood (oak) | 78,8 x 71 | |
| Frans Floris Frans Floris Frans Floris, or more correctly Frans de Vriendt, called Floris was a Flemish painter. He was a member of a large family trained to the study of art in Flanders.-Biography:... |
Portrait of elderly woman (or The falconer's wife) | Panel | 107,7 x 83,4 | ||
| Paris Bordone Paris Bordone Paris Bordon was an Italian painter of the Venetian Renaissance who, despite training with Titian, maintained a strand of mannerist complexity and provincial vigor.-Biography:... |
Annunciation | 1545-1550 | Canvas | 102 x 196 | |
| Lambert Sustris Lambert Sustris Lambert Sustris was a Dutch painter active mainly in Venice during the Mannerist style. He is also referred to as Alberto de Olanda . He was born in Amsterdam, and only came to Venice when over 40 years old. His training is unknown, but he was utilized by the studio of Titian for the depiction of... |
The Baptism of Christ | Vers 1543 | Canvas | 129,4 x 236,1 | |
| Tintoretto Tintoretto Tintoretto , real name Jacopo Comin, was a Venetian painter and a notable exponent of the Renaissance school. For his phenomenal energy in painting he was termed Il Furioso... |
The Descent from the Cross | 1556-1558 | Canvas | 135,6 x 102 | |
| id. | The Last Supper | 1564-1566 | Canvas | 90 x 121 | |
| Paolo Veronese Paolo Veronese Paolo Veronese was an Italian painter of the Renaissance in Venice, famous for paintings such as The Wedding at Cana and The Feast in the House of Levi... |
The Temptation of St. Anthony | 1552 | Canvas | 198,2 x 149,5 | |
| id. | Judith and Holofernes | After 1581 | Canvas | 231,5 x 273,5 | |
| Benedetto Caliari Benedetto Caliari Benedetto Caliari was an Italian painter who was born into a family of artists. Benedetto’s father Gabriele Caliari was a stonecutter. Benedetto’s brother Paolo Caliari is better known as Veronese. Veronese’s principal assistants were his younger brother Benedetto Caliari and his two sons Carlo... |
The Departure of the Israelites or the Israelites out of Egypt | Canvas | 95 x 121 |
17th Century
- L'Empoli, St. Clair taking the veil (ca. 1620)
- Entourage of CarracciAccademia degli IncamminatiThe Accademia degli Incamminati was one of the first art academies in Italy. It was originally created around 1580 in Bologna as the Accademia dei Desiderosi and was sometimes known as the Accademia dei Carracci after its founders the Carracci cousins , with Annibale heading the institution thanks...
, Group of Artists (ca. 1600) - Giuseppe CesariGiuseppe CesariGiuseppe Cesari was an Italian Mannerist painter, also named Il Giuseppino and called Cavaliere d'Arpino, because he was created Cavaliere di Cristo by his patron Pope Clement VIII. He was much patronized in Rome by both Sixtus V.-Biography:Cesari's father had been a native of Arpino, but...
, The Victory of Tullus Hostilius on the Forces of Veies and Fidena (1596-1597) - Bernardo StrozziBernardo StrozziBernardo Strozzi was a prominent and prolific Italian Baroque painter born and active mainly in Genoa, and also active in Venice.-Biography:Strozzi was born in Genoa. He was probably not related to the other Strozzi family....
, Santa Rosalia - Domenico FettiDomenico FettiDomenico Fetti was an Italian Baroque painter active mainly in Rome, Mantua and Venice.-Biography:...
, The Parable of the Prodigal Son and The Pricey Pearl - Guercino, Coriolanus begged by his mother (1643)
- Andrea SacchiAndrea SacchiAndrea Sacchi was an Italian painter of High Baroque Classicism, active in Rome. A generation of artists who shared his style of art include the painters Nicolas Poussin and Giovanni Battista Passeri, the sculptors Alessandro Algardi and François Duquesnoy, and the contemporary biographer Giovanni...
, Didon abandoned or Didon on the pyre (ca. 1630-1635) - Novelli, Musical Duel of Apollo and Marsyas
- Attributed to Francesco CairoFrancesco CairoFrancesco Cairo was an Italian painter active in Baroque Lombardy and Piedmont.He was born and died in Milan. It is not known where he obtained his early training though he is strongly influenced by the circle of il Morazzone, in works such as the Saint Teresa altarpiece in the Certosa di Pavia.In...
, Head of St. John the Baptist - Giovanni Benedetto CastiglioneGiovanni Benedetto CastiglioneGiovanni Benedetto Castiglione was an Italian Baroque artist, painter, printmaker and draftsman, of the Genoese school. He is best known now for his elaborate engravings, and as the inventor of the printmaking technique of monotyping. He was known as Il Grechetto in Italy and in France as Le...
, Io - Salvator RosaSalvator RosaSalvator Rosa was an Italian Baroque painter, poet and printmaker, active in Naples, Rome and Florence. As a painter, he is best known as an "unorthodox and extravagant" and a "perpetual rebel" proto-Romantic.-Early life:...
, Glaucus and Scylla - Bernardo CavallinoBernardo CavallinoBernardo Cavallino was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, working in Naples.Born in Naples, he likely died during the plague epidemic in 1656. While his paintings are some of the more stunningly expressive works emerging from the Neapolitan artists of his day, little is known about the...
, The Immaculate Conception (ca. 1640) - Giuseppe NuvoloneGiuseppe NuvoloneGiuseppe Nuvolone was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Milan, Brescia, and Cremona. Born in San Gimignano. He was the brother of the painter Carlo Francesco Nuvolone and son and pupil of Panfilo. He painted St Dominic resurrecting the dead for the church of San Domenico...
, Samson and Delilah - Valerio CastelloValerio CastelloValerio Castello was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He was very active during his short life in Genoa.He was the youngest son of Bernardo Castello, who died when Valerio was six year old...
, Simon the Magician (ca. 1650-1656) - Giacomo Cotta, The Flight to Egypt or The rest of the Holy Family (1673)
- Luca GiordanoLuca GiordanoLuca Giordano was an Italian late Baroque painter and printmaker in etching. Fluent and decorative, he worked successfully in Naples and Rome, Florence and Venice, before spending a decade in Spain....
, The Abduction of Helen (between 1680 et 1683) - Attributed to Pietro Negri, Mercury and Argus
- Andrea PozzoAndrea PozzoAndrea Pozzo was an Italian Jesuit Brother, Baroque painter and architect, decorator, stage designer, and art theoretician. He was best known for his grandiose frescoes using illusionistic technique called quadratura, in which architecture and fancy are intermixed...
, The Guardian Angel (ca. 1685-1694) - Giandomenico Tiepolo, Ecce Homo (ca. 1760-1770)
- Simon VouetSimon VouetSimon Vouet was a French painter and draftsman, who today is perhaps best remembered for helping to introduce the Italian Baroque style of painting to France.-Life:...
, The Virgin and Child with Angel (1636) and (1636) et Young Man and the fig (between 1620 et 1630) - Claude VignonClaude VignonClaude Vignon was a leading French painter and engraver working in the Baroque manner.He was born at Tours and received early training in Paris...
, Portrait of a Young Man (ca. 1615-1618) - Nicolas PoussinNicolas PoussinNicolas Poussin was a French painter in the classical style. His work predominantly features clarity, logic, and order, and favors line over color. His work serves as an alternative to the dominant Baroque style of the 17th century...
, Venus mourning Adonis (ca. 1625) - Philippe de ChampaignePhilippe de ChampaignePhilippe de Champaigne was a Flemish-born French Baroque era painter, a major exponent of the French school.-Early life:Born in Brussels of a poor family, Champaigne was a pupil of the landscape painter Jacques Fouquières...
, The Annunciation (1633), The Vow of Louis XIII (1638) and The Samaritan Woman (1648) - Laurent de La HyreLaurent de La HyreLaurent de La Hyre was a French Baroque painter, born in Paris.La Hyre was greatly influenced by the work of Italian artists who came to Paris. He became a pupil of Georges Lallemand and studied the works of Primaticcio at Fontainebleau, but never visited Italy...
, The Apparition of the Virgin and Child in the Heaven (ca. 1630) and Theseus finding the Weapons of his Father (1634) - Lubin BauginLubin BauginLubin Baugin was a French painter.Baugin was born in Pithiviers to a prosperous family. He received his artistic training from 1622 to 1628, and entered the guild of St.-Germaine-des-Prés as a master painter on May 23, 1629. Around 1632–33 he traveled to Italy, where he settled in Rome...
, St. Jerome - Attributed to Jean DaretJean DaretJean Daret was a Flemish-French painter.-Biographie:Jean Daret was born in Brussels in 1613.He was appointed an official painter for King Louis XIV. He specialised in decorating mansions, namely Chateau de Chateaurenard, at Rue Gaston Saporta, in Aix-en-Provence.He died in Aix-en-Provence at age...
, The Savior of the world - Sébastien BourdonSébastien BourdonSébastien Bourdon was a French painter and engraver. His chef d'œuvre is The Crucifixion of St. Peter made for the cathedral of Notre Dame....
, Christ and the Centurion (1655-1660) - Charles Le BrunCharles Le BrunCharles Le Brun , a French painter and art theorist, became the all-powerful, peerless master of 17th-century French art.-Biography:-Early life and training:...
, Charity (ca. 1642-1648) - Jean-Baptiste Belin de FontenayJean-Baptiste BelinJean-Baptiste Belin de Fontenay I , also called ‘Jean-Baptiste Belin the Elder’, was a French painter who specialized in flowers. He was born in Caen, France in 1653 and died in Paris in 1715. Early in life he was forced to choose between his Protestant religion and his career...
, Flowers in a Vase on a Carved Entablature and Woman with a Garland of Flowers - Peter Paul Rubens, Abraham and Melchissedech (between 1615 et 1618)
- Frans Snyders, Intérieur d'office (ca. 1635)
- Attributed to Artus WolffortArtus WolffortArtus Wolffort , also Wolffaert, was a Flemish Baroque painter from Antwerp.-Biography:He studied first in Dordrecht, where his family had emigrated in 1581, and after his return to Antwerp around 1615 in the studio of Otto van Veen...
, St. Jerome (ca. 1630) - Abraham GovaertsAbraham GovaertsAbraham Govaerts was a Flemish Baroque painter who specialized in small cabinet-sized forest landscapes in the manner of Jan Brueghel the Elder and Gillis van Coninxloo. He became a master in Antwerp's guild of St. Luke in 1607–1608, and subsequently trained several other painters in including...
, Hunting Landscape of Meleager and Atalanta - Gérard Seghers & Frans Ykens, The Virgin and Child Jesus in a Garland of Flowers
- Jacob JordaensJacob JordaensJacob Jordaens was one of three Flemish Baroque painters, along with Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck, to bring prestige to the Antwerp school of painting. Unlike those contemporaries he never traveled abroad to study Italian painting, and his career is marked by an indifference to their...
, Study Head: Abraham Grapheus - Shop of Anthony van DyckAnthony van DyckSir Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of Charles I of England and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next...
, Communion of St. Bonaventure (1628-1632) - Nicolaes van VerendaelNicolaes van VerendaelNicolaes van Verendael was a Flemish painter of vases with flowers.He became a member of the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in 1657. He didn't paint lots of pictures and lived modestly.-External links:...
, Vanity (ca. 1680) - Gérard de LairesseGerard de LairesseGerard or Gérard de Lairesse was a Dutch Golden Age painter and art theorist.Lairesse was born in Liège. His broad range of talent included music, poetry, and the theatre. He was perhaps the most celebrated Dutch painter in the period following the death of Rembrandt...
, The Conversion of St. Augustine (ca. 1663) - Bertholet FlemalleBertholet FlemalleBertholet Flemalle, Flemal, or Flamael was a Flemish Baroque painter.-Biography:The son of a glass painter, he was instructed in his art by Henri Trippet and Gerard Douffet successively. He visited Rome in 1638, and was invited by the Duke of Tuscany to Florence and employed in decorating one of...
, Adoration of the Shepherds (ca. 1665) - Jan Davidsz de Heem, Vanity (1628)
- Harmen van Steenwyck, Peasants in an Interior
- Jan AsselijnJan Asselijn-Biography:Asselijn was born at Dieppe. He received instruction from Esaias van de Velde , and distinguished himself particularly in landscape and animal painting, though his historical works and battle pieces are also admired. He traveled in France and Italy, and modeled his style after Bamboccio...
, Landscape with Watermill - Thomas Wyck, The Alchemist's Lab
- Willem DrostWillem DrostWillem Drost was a Dutch Golden Age painter and printmaker of history paintings and portraits who died young.-Biography:...
, The Oyster Sheller - Johannes MoreelseJohannes MoreelseJohannes Paulus Moreelse, or Johan Pauwelszon Moreelse , was a Dutch baroque painter belonging to the school of Utrecht Caravaggism during the Dutch Golden Age....
, Mary Magdalene Penitent - Willem van AelstWillem van AelstWillem van Aelst was a Dutch artist who specialized in still-life painting with flowers or game.-Biography:...
, Bouquet of Flowers (1651) - Jacob van Walscapelle, Still life of flowers and insects
18th Century
| Author | Work | Date | Type | Dimension | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anonyme d'après Jean Jouvenet Jean Jouvenet Jean-Baptiste Jouvenet was a French painter, especially of religious subjects.He was born into an artistic family in Rouen... |
Saint Peter curing the sick | vers 1700 | Canvas | ||
| Hyacinthe Rigaud Hyacinthe Rigaud Hyacinthe Rigaud was a French baroque painter of Catalan origin whose career was based in Paris.He is renowned for his portrait paintings of Louis XIV, the royalty and nobility of Europe, and members of their courts and considered one of the most notable French portraitists of the classical period... |
Portrait of Mary Cadene | 1684 | Canvas | 139 x 102 | |
| Hyacinthe Rigaud Hyacinthe Rigaud Hyacinthe Rigaud was a French baroque painter of Catalan origin whose career was based in Paris.He is renowned for his portrait paintings of Louis XIV, the royalty and nobility of Europe, and members of their courts and considered one of the most notable French portraitists of the classical period... |
Supposed Portrait of the Comte de Gacé | Canvas | 136 x 113 | ||
| Jean-Baptiste Oudry Jean-Baptiste Oudry Jean-Baptiste Oudry was a French Rococo painter, engraver, and tapestry designer. He is particularly well known for his naturalistic pictures of animals and his hunt pieces depicting game.-Biography:... |
Sow and piglets attacked by dogs | 1748 | Canvas | 258 x 400 | |
| Robert Tournières Robert Tournières Robert Le Vrac de Tournières was a French painter. After the Second World War, a street in the new Saint-Paul district of his birthplace of Caen was named rue Robert Tournières.-Life:... |
Portrait of Goldsmith Nicolas Delaunay and his family | Ca. 1705 | Canvas | 56 x 70,2 | |
| Jean Restout | Portrait of a Premonstratensian | Ca. 1725-1735 | Canvas | 81 x 65,5 | |
| Pierre Subleyras Pierre Subleyras Pierre Subleyras was a French painter, active during the late-Baroque and early-Neoclassic period, mainly in Italy.... |
Portrait of Countess Mahony | Ca. 1740-1745 | Canvas | 100 x 74,5 | |
| Giovanni Paolo Pannini Giovanni Paolo Pannini Giovanni Paolo Panini or Pannini was a painter and architect, who worked in Rome and is mainly known as one of the vedutisti .... |
Prince Vaini Being Awarded the Order of the Holy Spirit by the Duc de Saint-Aignan | Canvas | |||
| François Boucher François Boucher François Boucher was a French painter, a proponent of Rococo taste, known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories representing the arts or pastoral occupations, intended as a sort of two-dimensional furniture... |
Pastoral (or Young Shepherd in a Landscape) | Canvas | 89 x 121,5 | ||
| Hubert | Portrait of an elderly woman | 1779 | Canvas | 231,5 x 273,5 |
19th Century
| Author | Work | Date | Type | Dimension | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eugène Delacroix Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school... |
Quentin Durward and Scarface | Ca. 1828 -1829 | Canvas | 40,5 x 32,4 | |
| Eugène Isabey Eugène Isabey Eugène Louis Gabriel Isabey was a French painter, draftsman, and printmaker.-Career:Born in Paris, the son of Jean-Baptiste Isabey, a painter as well, Eugène Isabey studied and worked at the Louvre Museum. Early in his career his paintings consisted of mostly watercolor landscapes... |
Sailors leaving the port of Saint-Valery | Canvas | 40,5 x 61 | ||
| Théodore Chassériau Théodore Chassériau Théodore Chassériau was a French romantic painter noted for his portraits, historical and religious paintings, allegorical murals, and Orientalist images inspired by his travels to Algeria.-Life and work:... |
Group of Arabs (or Joseph sold by his brothers) | Canvas | 82 x 66 | ||
| Gustave Courbet Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet was a French painter who led the Realist movement in 19th-century French painting. The Realist movement bridged the Romantic movement , with the Barbizon School and the Impressionists... |
The Sea | 1871-1872 | Canvas | 38 x 45 | |
| id. | Lady with the Jewels | 1867 | Canvas | 81 x 64 | |
| Théodore Rousseau Théodore Rousseau Pierre Étienne Théodore Rousseau , French painter of the Barbizon school, was born in Paris, of a bourgeois family.-Youth:At first he received a business training, but soon displayed aptitude for painting... |
Landscape | Canvas | 82,6 x 124,8 | ||
| Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot | The Goat-herders of Castel Gandolfo | 1866 | Canvas | 59 x 78 | |
| Eugène Boudin Eugène Boudin Eugène Boudin was one of the first French landscape painters to paint outdoors.Boudin was a marine painter, and expert in the rendering of all that goes upon the sea and along its shores... |
The Beach of Deauville | 1863 | Canvas | 50,5 x 74,5 | |
| id. | Pasture in Fervaques | 1874 | Canvas | 55 x 38 | |
| Gustave Doré Gustave Doré Paul Gustave Doré was a French artist, engraver, illustrator and sculptor. Doré worked primarily with wood engraving and steel engraving.-Biography:... |
Scottish Landscape | 1881 | Canvas | 92 x 165 |
21st Century
- BalthusBalthusBalthasar Klossowski de Rola , best known as Balthus, was an esteemed but controversial Polish-French modern artist....
, Langouste - Pierre BonnardPierre BonnardPierre Bonnard was a French painter and printmaker, as well as a founding member of Les Nabis.-Biography:...
, Portrait of Madame Henri Jean Arthur Fontaine - Georges BraqueGeorges BraqueGeorges Braque[p] was a major 20th century French painter and sculptor who, along with Pablo Picasso, developed the art style known as Cubism.-Early Life:...
, The Chair (on loan from the State) - Olivier Debré, Black Blue Loire Ocher with Top Strong Stains
- François Dilasser, Planet
- Jean DubuffetJean DubuffetJean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet was a French painter and sculptor. His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so called "low art" and eschewed traditional standards of beauty in favor of what he believed to be a more authentic and humanistic approach to image-making.-Life and work:Dubuffet was...
, Migration - Albert GleizesAlbert GleizesAlbert Gleizes , was a French painter. Born Albert Léon Gleizes and raised in Paris, he was the son of a fabric designer who ran a large industrial design workshop...
, Composition - Frantisek KupkaFrantišek KupkaFrantišek Kupka was a Czech painter and graphic artist. He was a pioneer and co-founder of the early phases of the abstract art movement and Orphic cubism...
- Jean MetzingerJean MetzingerJean Metzinger was a French painter.Metzinger was born in Nantes, France. Initially he was influenced by Fauvism and Impressionism, but from 1908 he was associated with Cubism. Metzinger was a member of the Section d'Or group of artists...
, The Card Drawer - Joan MitchellJoan MitchellJoan Mitchell was a "second generation" abstract expressionist painter. She was an essential member of the American Abstract expressionist movement, even though much of her career took place in France. Along with Lee Krasner, Grace Hartigan, and Helen Frankenthaler she was one of her era's few...
, Fields and The Sky Is Blue, The Grass Is Green - Ernest Pignon-ErnestErnest Pignon-ErnestErnest Pignon-Ernest is a Fluxus and Situationist French artist.-Overview:His first work was done in 1966. It was a reaction to France's Nuclear Strike Force. In 1971, he exhibited posters depicting scenes from the Commune. In 1978-1979, his posters of Arthur Rimbaud could be seen all over France....
, David and Goliath - Pierre Soulage, Painting June 7, 1974
- Mark TobeyMark TobeyMark George Tobey was an American abstract expressionist painter, born in Centerville, Wisconsin. Widely recognized throughout the United States and Europe, Tobey is the most noted among the "mystical painters of the Northwest." Senior in age and experience, Tobey had a strong influence on the...
, Appearances - Kees Van DongenKees van DongenCornelis Theodorus Maria van Dongen , usually known as Kees van Dongen or just Van Dongen, was a Dutch painter and one of the Fauves. He gained a reputation for his sensuous, at times garish, portraits....
, Portrait of Marie-Therese Raulet - Jacques VillonJacques VillonJacques Villon was a French cubist painter and printmaker.-Early life:Born Gaston Emile Duchamp in Damville, Eure, in the Haute-Normandie region of France, he came from a prosperous and artistically inclined family...
, Scribe - Edouard VuillardÉdouard VuillardJean-Édouard Vuillard was a French painter and printmaker associated with the Nabis.-Early years and education:...
, Portrait of Suzanne Desprez
Parc des sculptures
- Antoine BourdelleAntoine BourdelleAntoine Bourdelle , originally Émile Antoine Bourdelle, was an influential and prolific French sculptor, painter, and teacher.-Career:...
, Grand Warrior (on loan from the Musée Bourdelle) - Damien Cabanes, Untitled (on loan from the Fonds national d'art contemporain)
- Huang Yong PingHuang Yong PingHuang Yong Ping is a contemporary French visual artist of Chinese origin. Huang's work combines many media and cultural influence, but is particularly strongly influence by the intellectual abstraction of Dada and by Chinese numerology traditions...
, One Man, nine animals (on loan from the Fonds national d'art contemporain)
External links
- The Musée des beaux-arts de Caen collections in the base Joconde