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The Musée de Tessé holds an extensive collection of Netherlandish paintings, for the most part dating from the seventeenth century. Alongside some emblematic masterpieces, such as Willem van Aelst’s famous Still Life with Armor, a fascinating Anatomy Lesson attributed to Peter van Mol, a very large Landscape with Arch and Tower by Adam Pijnacker, and a Pentecost by Theodoor van Thulden, this somewhat disparate collection also includes a number of less remarkable works and ancient copies. Some are small cabinet pictures reflecting the taste of seventeenth-century art lovers. A precious collection of small works on copper from the workshops of the Francken family offers a good example, particularly in France, of this “fashion.”

The collection covers every genre that emerged in the Netherlands during this period: religious and mythological painting, portraits, landscapes, still lifes, scenes of everyday life, and bambochades.

Carole Hirardot, Head of Collections 1300-1800, Museums of Le Mans (March 2025)