DEPARTMENTAL MUSEUM MAURICE-DENIS
Museum housing an original collection dedicated to Symbolist, Post-Impressionist and Pont-Aven artists...
Built at the end of the 17th century, this imposing listed building was originally a royal general hospital, founded by Madame de Montespan in 1681 and closed in 1802. When painter Maurice Denis acquired it in 1914, the building and chapel were partially in ruins. With the help of architect Auguste Perret, he undertook the restoration of the site and garden, before settling there permanently with his family. The place, frequented by his students and numerous acquaintances, became a place of intense intellectual and artistic activity. The museum houses an original collection dedicated to Symbolist artists, the Post-Impressionists, the Pont-Aven group and the Nabis group, of which Denis, painter and theoretician, was the leader. This collection of works linked to the avant-garde artistic movements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries contributes to our knowledge of the origins of modern art and the major aesthetic changes that ensued. The museum's chapel, completed in 1928 and restored by Auguste Perret, who created the gallery and woodwork, is a veritable religious and artistic manifesto designed by Denis, whose modern decor and frescoes sublimate the building's ancient character. There's also an attractive store, renovated in 2021, where you can buy postcards, books and other products derived from the museum's collections.
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