Muse des Beaux-Arts
Dijon

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Housed in the Palais des Ducs, the Musée des Beaux-Arts has the most important collection of paintings in France outside of Paris. The building itself is a focal point in the city of Dijon with its old cobbled streets and half-timbered buildings which radiate from the Palais, all well worth exploring. After extensive restoration, a new vitality has come to the museum with a full programme of events each month from the exhibitions to workshops and lectures. There are new spaces for an additional 500 works now that the first phase of this ten year upgrade has been completed.

The Tombs of the Dukes of burgundy

The museum is a good introduction to the splendour of the Dukes of Bourgogne. The Salles des Gardes housing the magnificent tombs of the Dukes, Philip the Bold and John the Fearless, decorated with sculptures by the Flemish masters Jean de Marville, Claus Sluter and Claus de Werve, reopens on September 7 after extensive renovation work. The alabaster mourners surrounding the tombs, considered masterpieces in medieval sculpture, are back in their rightful place in the museum after the successful tour in the USA and Europe.

Sophie Judge, the Director of the Musée des Beaux Arts says ‘During the late Middle Ages, the dukes of Burgundy - the wealthiest and most powerful aristocrats in northern Europe - commissioned sculptors of great renown to decorate their magnificent court in Dijon. Working in a studio presided over by Claus Sluter, these sculptors created monuments for the ducal family that rivalled contemporary Italian works. These extraordinary marble and alabaster tombs serve as platforms for the ducal figures, who rest atop fully carved arcades. Within the spaces of the arcades, the artists carved individual monks in procession. Each monk is a miniature embodiment of late medieval devotion. Shown in various states of mourning, they move in perpetual procession beneath the marble bodies of their rulers'.

Museum Art Collections

The painting and sculpture collection in the museum is immense. Italian, Dutch and Flemish painters from Titien, Rubens and Bruegel, to the work of the Impressionists, Manet and Monet and statues by François Rude, the man responsible for the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, are displayed. The collection is too vast to take in during one visit but the setting of the museum is particularly attractive with large windows and plenty of natural light, making you want to return for more.

Opening Times

• 9.30 - 18.00 from May to Oct
• 10.00 -17.00 from Nov to April
• Closed every Tues

Admission free
Audio-guide 3.90 Euros

Places to Stay

• Marcs d'Or chambres d'hôte