Museum of Fine Arts (Reims)

In 1752, , the founder of the Reims School of Drawing, died and bequeathed to the city his vast collection of works of art ^[1] . It is this date that Henri Jadart ( French Henri Jadart ), the former curator of the Reims Museum from 1895 to 1914, proposes to consider the date of foundation of the museum ^{[2] [3]} .

After the French Revolution , a decree was issued on the establishment of a museum in Reims, the first curator of which was appointed Abbot Nicolas Berge ( French Nicolas Bergeat ) ^[4] . He was faced with the task of collecting art objects that survived during the revolutionary unrest, and soon several temporary depots appeared in different buildings of the city. A separate permanent premises was needed, and in 1795 the state decided to place the museum in the city hall. However, already in 1798, initially the state museum was transferred to the city and became municipal. On April 5, 1800, it first opened to the public ^[5] .

Then a difficult period began for the museum: thefts and misappropriation of works of art, restitution , reorganization of the premises occupied by the museum ^[6] . Nicolas Berge, who was going through all this hard, died in 1815; the museum fell into complete decline. A gradual rebirth began only in 1835; Louis Paris was appointed the new curator, who managed to reunite the collection, which had been disparate by that time. In 1840, the museum was reopened to visitors ^[7] .

In 1908, the state decided to allocate a separate building for the museum, and the choice fell on the former , located near Reims Cathedral . The museum was transferred there in 1913 and has since occupied this building, which has the status of a historical monument ^{[8] [9]} .

The museum has, first of all, a rich collection of paintings, which presents works of French and European art of the 16th – 21st centuries ^[8] . In addition, the museum exhibits sculptures, furniture and ceramics ^[8] . Among the most notable exhibits:

• 13 portraits of the work of Lucas Cranach the Elder and Younger ^[10] ;
• works of French artists of various eras and trends ( Philippe de Champagne , brothers Lenin , Charles Lebrun , Francois Boucher , Eugene Delacroix , Claude Monet , Camille Pissarro , Auguste Renoir , Paul Gauguin , etc.)
• 26 landscapes and one portrait of Camille Corot (the second collection in Europe by the number of paintings after the Louvre );
• The world's largest collection of Tsuguharu Fujita heritage (a total of 2300 paintings and documents);
• a collection of works of Art Nouveau and Art Deco ;
• the work of abstract artists of the XX century ( Serge Sharshun , Raul Yubak , Maria Elena Vieira da Silva , Leon Zack , Genevieve As , etc.) ^[8]

In 2014, a decision was made to restore, reorganize and expand the museum ^[11] . Work should begin in September 2019 and end in 2023. The new museum complex will occupy an area of ​​5,500 m ² , which will house about 20,000 works of art. A budget of 45.3 million euros has been allocated for this large-scale project ^[11] .

• Delot C., Liot D., Montout M.-H. Le Musée des beaux-arts, Reims . - Paris: Fondation BNP PARIBAS, 2002 .-- 127 p. .
• Sartor M. Catalog historique et descriptif du Musée de Reims: peintures, toiles peintes, pastels, gouaches, aquarelles & miniatures . - Paris: Imprimerie Georges Petit, 1909. - 244 p.

• Official website (unopened) . Date of treatment August 14, 2019.
• Petit guide du visiteur (neopr.) . Reims.fr . Date of treatment August 14, 2019.