The ''Musée départemental de l'Oise'' (MUDO, Museum of the Oise Department) is a museum in the former bishop's palace in Beauvais, Oise, in northern France. It is classified as a historical monument.

Building history

The museum is housed in the former palace of the

Bishop of Beauvais The Diocese of Beauvais, Noyon, and Senlis ( la, Dioecesis Bellovacensis, Noviomensis et Silvanectensis; french: Diocèse de Beauvais, Noyon et Senlis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The di ...

, who was also the Count of Beauvais and a peer of France. The original palace was built on a Roman wall below the

Beauvais Cathedral The Cathedral of Saint Peter of Beauvais (french: Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Beauvais) is a Roman Catholic church in the northern town of Beauvais, Oise, France. It is the seat of the Bishop of Beauvais, Noyon and Senlis. The cathedral is in ...

by Henry of France (–75), son of King Louis VI of France and Bishop of Beauvais from 1149 to 1161. Following a riot in the 14th century the bishop built a fortified entrance guarded by two towers. In the 16th century Bishop Louis Villiers de l’Isle Adam (1497–1521) rebuilt the palace in Renaissance style with Gothic decoration. The clock tower in the facade holds a stairway leading up to a belfry with three bells, one of them made in 1506. After the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

the palace was made the seat of the prefecture in 1800, then returned to the bishopric in 1822. In 1846 it became a courthouse. In 1848

Prosper Mérimée Prosper Mérimée (; 28 September 1803 – 23 September 1870) was a French writer in the movement of Romanticism, and one of the pioneers of the novella, a short novel or long short story. He was also a noted archaeologist and historian, and a ...

had the building placed on the list of historical monuments. The court moved out of the building in 1973, and renovations were made between 1974 and 1981, when the museum opened. The building began to show structural problems caused by the many visitors, and was closed to the public in 1997. Temporary exhibitions were given in the structurally sound sections of the building. A renovation project was started in 2013 and the museum reopened in January 2015. The renovation cost over €9.5 million, supported by the

Oise Oise ( ; ; pcd, Oése) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,41 ...

Department in partnership with the Picardy Region. File:Musée départemental de oise 4.JPG, Plan File:Musée départemental de l'Oise5.JPG, Facade with clock tower File:Palais épiscopal de Beauvais - Beauvais - Oise - France - Mérimée PA00114516 (5).jpg, Gardens File:Palais épiscopal de Beauvais 20.JPG, Side entrance File:Beauvais (60), ancien palais épiscopal, châtelet d'entrée, passage voûté, voûte 1.JPG, Entrance vaulted ceiling File:Palais épiscopal de Beauvais - Beauvais - Oise - France - Mérimée PA00114516 (11).jpg, Attic

Collection history

The historian Louis Graves and the ''Société académique de l'Oise'' began the museum collection in 1841 to preserve objects of artistic or historical interest. At first the collection was stored in various municipal offices, but it steadily outgrew the available space. In 1908 the city of Beauvais and the ''Société académique de l'Oise'' offered the collection to the departmental council of the

. In 1909 the department acquired a large building to the north of the cathedral. The museum was temporarily evacuated in 1918, during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(1914–18). During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

(1939–45) most of the objects were destroyed when the museum was bombed in June 1940. In 1960 the remainder of the collection was installed in the attic of the former Bishop's Palace.

Present museum

The museum opened after a major renovation on 25 January 2015. In the center of the renovated Bishop's Palace the "19th Century Tour" leads past works by artists such as Camille Corot,

Alfred Sisley Alfred Sisley (; ; 30 October 1839 – 29 January 1899) was an Impressionist landscape painter who was born and spent most of his life in France, but retained British citizenship. He was the most consistent of the Impressionists in his dedicatio ...

Paul Huet Paul Huet (3 October 1803 – 8 January 1869) was a French painter and printmaker born in Paris. He studied under Gros and Guerin. He met the English painter Richard Parkes Bonington in the studio of Gros, where he studied irregularly from 1819 ...

, Prosper Marilhat and

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( , ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassical painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic orthodoxy against the ...

. There are decorative works by Alexis-Joseph Mazerolle and Pierre-Victor Galland, and ceramics by Jules-Claude Ziegler. The huge unfinished canvas ''Enrôlement des volontaires de 1792'' by

Thomas Couture Thomas Couture (21 December 1815 – 30 March 1879) was a French history painter and teacher. He taught such later luminaries of the art world as Édouard Manet, Henri Fantin-Latour, John La Farge,Wilkinson, Burke. ''The Life and Works of A ...

is displayed in the old courtroom, along with many preparatory sketches. The museum puts on temporary exhibitions several times each year dedicated to specific artists or artistic movements, stages lectures and holds children's workshops. The important Art Nouveau potter Auguste Delaherche was born in Beauvais, and later worked in the region. The museum has his bust by

Pierre Félix Masseau Pierre Félix Masseau (17 March 1869, in Lyon – 14 April 1937, in Paris), known professionally as Fix-Masseau. He was a noted French sculptor and father of poster artist Pierre Fix-Masseau with whom he is sometimes confused with. Fix-Massea ...

, and also claims to have the "most important" collection of his ceramics."Vase à six côtes verticales, Auguste DELAHERCHE - 1892"
"Le MUDO – Musée de l'Oise conserve la plus importante collection de céramiques d’Auguste Delaherche". File:Dieu guerrier gaulois de saint maur musée dep beauvais.JPG, 1st century brass statue of Gallic warrior File:Buste de Toussaint de Forbin-Janson.jpg, Bust of

Toussaint de Forbin-Janson Toussaint de Forbin-Janson also known simply as Cardinal de Janson (1 October 1631 – 24 March 1713) was a French Catholic Cardinal and Bishop of Beauvais. Early life As a boy, Janson joined the Knights of Malta and then the army of th ...

File:Couture-volontaires-beauv2 copie.jpg, ''Two volunteers'' by

File:Musée départemental de l'Oise albert ernest carrier belleuse buste de femme avec des roses 1858.JPG, Woman with roses File:Nicolas Poussin dans la campagne romaine-Philippe Jacques van Brée-MBA Lyon 2014.jpeg, ''Nicolas Poussin dans la campagne romaine'' by

William Frederick Yeames William Frederick Yeames (; 18 December 1835 – 3 May 1918) was a British painter best known for his oil-on-canvas ''"And When Did You Last See Your Father?"'', which depicts the son of a Royalist being questioned by Parliamentarians during t ...

Notes

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Musee departemental de l'Oise Buildings and structures in Beauvais Museums in Oise