The Musée Bonnat-Helleu has been closed since 2011 due to major renovations. The museum will reopen on 27 November 2025. Please consult mbh.bayonne.fr for updates.

Information

The Musée Bonnat-Helleu possesses a remarkable collection of Dutch and Flemish art, comprising 66 paintings and 142 graphic works dating from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries. These works derive in large part from the collection of the Bayonnais painter Léon Bonnat.

The museum holds emblematic works by great masters such as Peter Paul Rubens, including fifteen oil sketches, seven of which belong to the Torre de la Parada series, Anthony van Dyck, Rembrandt, and artists connected with their workshops.

The portrait of Daniel Mytens by Van Dyck exemplifies the mastery of Flemish portrait-painting, displaying all the attention to lighting and materials that is characteristic of this school.

The collections also include genre and mythological scenes. Although fewer in number, these attest to the exuberance and realism prized by the courts of Europe during the Baroque era.

Finally, the museum’s drawings and prints demonstrate the stylistic evolution in the art of Flanders and the United Provinces, while shedding light on the cross-influences between Flemish and Dutch artists. These works underline the importance accorded to detail and light in the art of this period.

Maïtena Horiot, Director of the Research Center (May 2025)

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