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Dijon: Musée des Beaux-Arts

(vero;2022-Jan-11)

The Musée des Beaux-Arts in Dijon, housed in the former Palace of the Dukes and Estates of Burgundy, is one of the oldest and grandest in France. It was founded in 1787 and consisted originally of two rooms: the Salle des Statues for sculptures and the Salon Condé for paintings. It grew over the time with the exhibition of works of the Prix de Rome winners and works of art seized during the Revolution. Napoléon contributed to the collection (probably with spoils of war) and the museum benefited vastly from State deposits, donations and bequests from collectors, gradually expanding within the rooms of the palace, which are a gem in themselves. The museum's collections are among the richest in France and range from Antiquity (Egypt particularly) to contemporary art, from paintings to decorative arts, drawings and sculptures.

The Musée des Beaux-Arts was in the midst of renovation works when we visited in 2013, which meant we missed some of the key-exhibits, a very good reason to come back, all the more that Dijon is a pleasant city with a lot to offer. All museums in Dijon are free of charge, click here for practical information such as opening times and location.

View of Dijon's Musée des Beaux-Arts. It is housed in the former Palace of the Dukes and Estates of Burgundy.

A nice landscape with a little church down in the plain peeping between the folds of the terrain. Unfortunately I was not able to identify the author and title of this painting.

Vanitas called Allegory of the five Senses (German school, 17th century). Vanitas are artworks that remind the viewer of the shortness and fragility of life. They include some obvious symbols such as skulls or extinguished candles but also other elements such as musical instruments, money, jewellery, weapons, crowns and regalia, wine and books, all symbols reminding us explicitly of the worthlessness of worldly pleasures and goods. The title of this painting is "Allegory of the five Senses" but I cannot really connect the symbols to the senses; the flute must stand for hearing, the tobacco box for taste or smell, the paper showing the sunset times for the whole year by month could relate to sight. I am struggling to match touch: maybe the strange object in the right bottom corner of the painting. Other than that, the coins, the playing cards, the ring, the book and writing accessories, all tick the box, as does the watch on the top right for the passing of time.

Vanitas with an owl (17th century). The skull stands for the fragility of life and the inevitability of mortality. There is a bee resting on the skull, symbol of martyrdom (the bee sacrifices its own life to save the hive) and right of the skull is an extinguished candle (just a hint on our picture), representing the human soul and the transience of life. Click here to see the painting in full.

Georges de la Tour (1593-1652): the blower with the lamp. Click this link for a full picture with zooming capability.

Léon-Lucien Goupil (1834-1891): portrait of Sarah Bernhardt. Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) was a most famous stage actress, a legend of the French theatre and still a reference to our days.

Hippolyte Petitjean (1854-1929) - He was a French post-impressionist painter who practised the technique of pointillism. This painting dating 1894 called Jeune Femme Debout (Young Woman Standing) pictures Louise Claire Chardon, who became his wife in 1904.

Michel Biot (1936-2020), French abstract painter whose works focus on the natural elements and movement, aiming at immersing the spectator in the landscape. This painting is called La Déferlante, which could be translated with Surf Wave.

Michel Biot (1936-2020) - L'homme devant l'Infini, man in front of Infinity.

Detail of an oil painting by the "Maître de la déploration de Sarnen" (around 1475). This painting was on the inner panel of a retable and depicts the ride of the Three Wise Men. Click here to see the painting in full. A look at the full picture can help us identify the magi on our photo. We can eliminate Balthasar who is the one with black skin… Remain Melchior from Persia or Gaspar from India. Because one of the magi is holding a monkey on the lead, wears a turban and sports a hint of a beard on his chin, he might well be Gaspar who is coming from India and who is also the older of the three, often depicted with a white beard. This leaves Melchior as the one on our photo. But this is my personal guess, prove me wrong!

Detail of a painting by the "Maître à L'oeillet de Baden" (first half of the 16th century). This painting depicts Saint Fridolin standing next to the dead he had just resurrected. Fridolin was an Irish missionary who lived in the 6th century. He built a church in Poitiers and founded quite a few monasteries in Germany and Switzerland. This painting relates to the legend according to which after he converted a landowner named Ursus, the latter left him his lands to build a church. Ursus's brother Landolf refused to accept the legitimacy of the gift and brought Fridolin before a court and summoned him to prove his title. Fridolin did so by calling Ursus back from the dead to confirm the gift in person. Landolf was so scared by this appearance that he also gave all his properties to Fridolin, enabling him to build a monastery in addition to the church. Click here to see the painting in full.

François Rude (1784-1855) - Hebe and the Eagle of Jupiter. François Rude, born in Dijon, was a French sculptor known for his patriotic themes. His most famous work is probably the Departure of the Volunteers, also known as La Marseillaise on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The sculpture of Hebe and the Eagle was commissioned by the city of Dijon and represents the Greek goddess of youth. Hebe is shown in her role as cup bearer to the gods, raising a vessel of ambrosia above her father Zeus, who appears in the guise of an eagle. Rude made the model for the marble group in 1852 but did not live to finish the work, which was completed by his nephew. Click here to see the sculpture in full.

Pierre Paul Prud'hon (1758-1823) - Prud'Hon was born in Cluny, not far away from Dijon and many of his works can be seen in the museum. This picture shows the painting on the ceiling of the museum's room of the statues "To the Glory of the Prince de Condé, Governor of Burgundy" (1786). Recognisable by the shield on which she is leaning, the personified Burgundy is draped in a fleur-de-lys mantle and points to the Condé arms above her, composed of three fleurs-de-lys and the cadency of bastardy. On the bottom left Time is devouring its children and the Parcae are spinning on the bottom right. Burgundy is surrounded by several allegories: on the left, the art of Painting with a gag on the mouth and the art of Sculpture crossing its arms over a bust with the artist's features and above them Immortality raising a golden circle; on the right, Prudence is holding a mirror and Justice its scales. Finally, at the top of the canvas, there are three female figures holding the laurel branches framing the coat of arms, and two winged figures, Renown and Victory. Click here to see a bigger version.

Unfortunately I could not find any information concerning this painting (detail of). I would guess that it is representing a saint with his sword behind him: Saint George, Saint Michael?

Martin Hoffmann: Saint Jean asleep (around 1515). This wooden high relief depicting St John asleep probably comes from a larger composition illustrating Christ's prayer on the Mount of Olives during which three of his apostles (Peter, James and John) whom he had asked to support him fell asleep instead of praying with him. Saint John is easily recognisable with his youth and curly hair. He is leaning on a rock on the right, the left side having disappeared, the closed eyelids and relaxed face evoke sleep. Click here to see the full sculpture.

Robert Campin: detail of the Nativity (around 1430). This painting deals with the Nativity in a very realistic and innovative way, synthesising different elements of Christ's birth: the scene of the Nativity itself, the adoration of the shepherds and the legend of the midwives (who attested Mary's virginity). Joseph is pictured holding a candle, symbol of the light brought to the world by the birth of Jesus, and is much older than Mary; Baby Jesus is naked lying on a cloth and the stable is very basic with the ox turning his back to the child instead of warming him with his breath as usually depicted. The three shepherds are in the background of the stable and the two midwives on the right of Joseph are given much importance, richly clothed and identified by the banner above them. Not visible on our picture is a landscape dotted with houses, a winding road leading to a village and a castle with the sea in the background: a new style, away from the traditional golden background of the time. You can check the full version with zooming capability of the painting by clicking on this link.

Bas-relief from the front of an altar of the Sainte Chapelle in Dijon picturing the apostolate of Saint Peter (13th century). In the centre of the composition, Christ in majesty is enthroned in a mandorla shaped like a quatrefoil and surrounded by the tetramorph, the symbols of the four Evangelists: an eagle for John, a man for Matthew, a lion for Mark and an ox for Luke. Christ, seated on a throne with two candlesticks at the ends, blesses with his right hand and holds a disk on his left knee. The four vignettes around Christ feature the same central character and tell the story of the life of an apostle which, after much controversy, has been identified as Peter. The upper left register depicts him in a lively discussion. Below this, an exorcism is taking place (spot the devil emerging from the head of the lady). Then in the lower right register, Peter baptises the couple depicted in the previous register before being arrested by a soldier. Finally, the upper right register shows Peter's martyrdom who is said to have asked to be crucified with his head down as he felt not worthy to be crucified the same way as Christ had been.

Stained glass window from the Sainte Chapelle in Dijon (destroyed in 1802) picturing a certain Pierre Berbis, adviser to the Duke of Burgundy and his first wife Henriette d'Agueville. They are represented kneeling and dressed in vivid colours, hands joined as a sign of devotion. An angel holding the head of a ram is shown on the left as a sign of benevolence (15th century).

Stained Glass window of the Golden Fleece from the Sainte Chapelle (mid 15th century). The Sainte Chapelle was designated in 1432 by the Duke Philip the Good as the third chapter and seat of the Order of the Golden Fleece which he had founded on the day of his marriage to Isabella of Portugal in 1430. It was also where the "Holy Host" was kept, attracting many pilgrims to the town. The story goes that in 1430, in Monaco, a lady bought a monstrance which had probably been stolen because it still contained a large host for adoration. This lady who was not a Christian and was unaware of the significance of the host in the Eucharist, decided to remove it from the monstrance with a knife. Suddenly the host began to ooze fresh blood, which immediately dried up, imprinting an image of the Lord seated on a rainbow, arms outstretched with instruments representing the Passion of Christ on both sides (click here for an idea of the thing). The distraught woman went to a canon who kept the host until Pope Eugene IV gave it to Philip the Good in 1434 in recognition of the support that the Duke of Burgundy had given him at the Council of Florence.

Funerary monument of Antoinette de Fontette (16th century). Unfortunately, I could not find out who Antoinette was but the picture of her funerary monument pops up in a few pages dealing with the fashion and costumes of the 16th century. I suppose that the red shape she is holding in her hands is her heart. Click here to see the sculpture in full.

Go back to Bordeaux: Musée d'Aquitaine or go on to Limoges: The Enamel Collection in the Musée des Beaux-Arts or go up to Museums