The Musée de la Chartreuse is an

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own Collection (artwork), collection. It might be in public or private ownership and may be accessible to all or have restrictions in place. ...

in a former

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has ...

monastery in

Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, Do ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. It is the 'musée des Beaux-Arts' for the city.

Building

Built by Jacques d'Abancourt in brick and stone in the Renaissance style, on the site of the house of the "Colombier", the hôtel d'Abancourt (1559) with its round tower was extended in 1608 by Jean de Montmorency, who added a square building in the same style with a square tower. In 1623 it was acquired by the

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...

s of Furnes. It finally saw itself become a home for

monks in the middle of the 17th century, via the construction of a chapter house and a small cloister (1663), a refectory (1687), the prior's lodgings (1690) and finally - after a large cloister and cells which were demolished in the 19th century - a chapel in the Jesuit style (not restored yet). On 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 November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

the building was turned over to military use and it was later damaged by bombing in 1944. It was bought by the city in 1951 and from 1958 was used to replace the buildings housing the city's musée des Beaux-Arts, which had been destroyed in the

Second World War 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

at the same time as the neighbouring boys'

lycée In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

. The current museum complex includes several 16th, 17th and 18th century buildings. To its left is the hôtel d'Abancourt-Montmorency, built between 1559 and 1608 in the Flemish Renaissance style. Built in the classical style at the start of the 18th century, the complex's church is made up of a vast nave and five side chapels. After a six-year restoration campaign, this church was used to display objets d'art and sculptures to the public, with the 19th century sculptures in the nave and objets d'art in the side chapels, including medieval goldwork and a series of bronzes and terracottas by

Giambologna Giambologna (1529 – 13 August 1608), also known as Jean de Boulogne (French), Jehan Boulongne (Flemish) and Giovanni da Bologna (Italian), was the last significant Italian Renaissance sculptor, with a large workshop producing large and small ...

, who was born in Douai. The ancient convent is listed as a '' Monument historique'' since 1930 by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual ...

Donors

* 1852 - Théophile Bra gave the works in his studio * 1857 - Doctor Escalier gave his collection of 176 Flemish and Dutch paintings * 1877 - Foucques de Wagnonville bequeathed the museum his collection, including several statues by Giambologna * Unknown date - Jean-Baptiste Fortier left the museum a sum of money allowing the purchase of works by

Veronese Veronese is the Italian word denoting someone or something from Verona, Italy and may refer to: * Veronese Riddle, a popular riddle in the Middle Ages * ''Veronese'' (moth), a moth genus in the family Crambidae * Monte Veronese, an Italian chee ...

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition ...

and

Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( , , ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and t ...

Curators

* Jacques Guillouet * Anne Labourdette since 2007

Permanent collections

Over 100 works are on show, chronologically retracing the evolution of European painting from the Middle Ages to modern art.

Works on show

* ''The Venetian Woman'' and ''Portrait of a Lady'' (1565) by Paul Veronese (1528–1588) * ''The Flagellation'' by Carracci * ''The Virgin, Protectress of the Cistercians'' by Jehan Bellegambe, oil on wood (16th century) * ''Le Four des Maures'' by

Henri-Edmond Cross Henri-Edmond Cross, born Henri-Edmond-Joseph Delacroix, (20 May 1856 – 16 May 1910) was a French painter and printmaker. He is most acclaimed as a master of Neo-Impressionism and he played an important role in shaping the second phase of t ...

, oil on canvas (1906) * ''The rose garden in Monaco'' by

, oil on canvas (1884) * ''The Friends of Fontvieille'' by

Félix Labisse Félix Labisse (March 9, 1905January 27, 1982) was a French Surrealist painter, illustrator, and designer. He was born in Marchiennes. He divided his time between Paris and the Belgian coast from 1927.Bataille 1989, p. 188. In Ostend he met Jame ...

, oil on canvas (1945) * ''Instituto de arte moderno Paraguay 665'' by

, canvas poster * ''The death of Abel'' by Alexandre Descatoire, sculpture * ''The Marchiennes Polyptych'' by Jan van Scorel (16th century), produced for the Abbaye de Marchiennes. Page 122 - ''Lille : Le pays minier - La flandre maritime - Entre Scarpe et Escaut'', published by Guide Vert Michelin - on

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...

* ''The Anchin Polyptych'' by Jehan Bellegambe

Gallery

Douai - Musée de la Chartreuse - Saint Jérôme méditant Vers 1540 - Marinus van Reymerswaele Inv. 234 75x107.jpg, ''St Jerome in his study'' 1540 -

Marinus van Reymerswaele Marinus may refer to: *Marinus (crater), a crater on the Moon *Marinus (given name) Marinus is a male given name, derived from Latin ''marinus'' meaning "marine; of or pertaining to the sea". It is used in the Netherlands as a given name, though ...

Image:Lebrun Louis1668.jpg, ''Louis XIV'', oil,

Charles Le Brun Charles Le Brun (baptised 24 February 1619 – 12 February 1690) was a French painter, physiognomist, art theorist, and a director of several art schools of his time. As court painter to Louis XIV, who declared him "the greatest French artist ...

, 1668 Image:Hans von Aachen - Le jugement de Paris.jpg, ''The judgment of Paris'', oil on canvas,

Hans von Aachen Hans von Aachen (1552 – 4 March 1615) was a German painter who was one of the leading representatives of Northern Mannerism. Hans von Aachen was a versatile and productive artist who worked in many genres. He was successful as a painter of pr ...

, 1588 Image:Jean-Baptiste Siméon Chardin - nature morte (perdreau, bécasse, vanneau, perdrix rouge, bigarade).jpg, ''Still Life'' (partridge, snipe, lapwing, red grouse, citron), Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin File:Constant Dutilleux - Effet de neige.jpg, ''Snow effect'', Constant Dutilleux, 1865 Jan Massijs - The Healing of Tobit - WGA14260.jpg, ''The healing of Tobit'',

Jan Matsys Jan Massijs or Jan Matsys (c.1510 – 8 October 1575) was a Flemish Renaissance painter known for his history paintings, genre scenes and landscapes. He also gained a reputation as a painter of the female nude, which he painted with a sensua ...

, 1550 File:Le Sidaner, La Communnion, Musée de la Chartreuse de Douai , oil on canvas 114 cm x 148 cm.jpg, ''La Communion''

Le Sidaner Henri Eugène Augustin Le Sidaner (7 August 1862 – 14 July 1939) who was a contemporary of the Post-impressionists, was an intimist painter known for his paintings of domestic interiors and quiet street scenes. His style contained elements o ...

, (c 1898)

Temporary exhibitions

The museum also organises temporary exhibitions, such as ''Douai, d'un siècle à l'autre'' (1999, presenting the plan for the reconstruction of Douai drawn up by the architects

Alexandre Miniac Alexandre Miniac (5 July 1885 – 3 December 1963) was a French architect and watercolorist Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin '' ...

and Petit, on the initiative of the Secretary of State for Reconstruction). Others include: * ''Au cirque, le peintre et le saltimbanque'', shown at the Musée de la Chartreuse de Douai 9 April-18 July 2004. Commissariat Général : Françoise Baligand & Zéev Gourarier. Catalogue : ''Au cirque, le peintre et le saltimbanque'', collectif, Musée de la Chartreuse, Douai - Somogy Éditions d'Art, Paris (2004). .

External links

Official site

Musenor digital archive
Association des Conservateurs des Musées des Hauts-de-France

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Musee De La Chartreuse De Douai Chartreuse De Douai Chartreuse De Douai Buildings and structures in Douai Chartreuse De Douai Chartreuse De Douai 1958 establishments in France