The Musee de Besançon

The Musée Besançon

Musée de Besançon. Some time ago I wrote about the arrival in Venice of the work which is probably the last painting by Giovanni Bellini, on exhibition on the occasion of the 500^th anniversary of the death of the artist.
I had the chance to discover a museum I didn’t know, and I have been waiting for its reopening to the public since 2015, because the Musée de Besançon is closed for restoration and it will be closed until 2018.

Meanwhile, I’ve discovered its history and I will tell you in this post.

In 1694 an abbot named Jean-Baptiste Boisot bequeathed this library and art collections to the Benedictine monastery of Saint-Vincent di Besançon, on two conditions: it was to be exhibited in its entirety in a room open to the public twice a week, and its continual enrichment was to be assured through the allocation of a budget specific to this purpose.

Over the course of nineteenth century, the museum’s collections were expanded considerably though various acquisitions but mostly through donations and bequests.
Native to Besançon, the artist and collector Jean Gigoux put together remarkable collections that he wished to leave to his hometown, where he hoped to help create a “regional Louvre” that might acquaint his fellow townspeople with the history of Western art from the Renaissance on.
The Drunkenness of Noah is one of this these works.  

Currently, the museum is closed for renovation. The reopening of the Musée de Besançon is expected in 2018.

READ ALSO: Giovanni Bellini: Life and works.

INFO
Musée des Beaux-Arts et d’Archeologie Besançon
1 Place de la Révolution, 25000 Besançon, Francia

LINK
www.mbaa.Besançon.fr