Information
Founded in 1787, the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Dijon is one of France’s oldest museums. One of its main strengths is the Middle Ages, with works commissioned by the dukes of Burgundy from numerous artists hailing from Flanders, Artois, Brabant, Hainaut, Limbourg, and Holland. Among its most important works are from the Carthusian monastery of Champmol, in particular the tomb of Philippe the Bold (completed in 1410), which was sculpted by Claes Sluter and Claus de Werve and painted by Johan Maelwael, and two altarpieces made between 1390 and 1399 by Jacques de Baerze and Melchior Broederlam. Working alongside these artists were carpenters such as Jan van Luik and glass painters such as Thierry Esperlan, who are also represented in the collection. Finally, the museum holds Flemish paintings including the renowned Nativity painted around 1430 by the workshop of the Master of Flémalle plus important examples of the Antwerp and Mechelen schools of altarpiece production, which thrived during the sixteenth century.
The prints and drawings room is dominated by works of the French and Italian schools, although Flemish and Netherlandish artists are also well represented, with more than 250 drawings and a similar number of prints from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries—some of them copies or with attributions that would repay further study.
The collection of prints and drawings can be viewed by appointment.
Sandrine Champion, Chief Curator (March 2025)
Collection catalogues
Le Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon
Comblen-Sonkes, Micheline and Nicole Veronee-Verhaegen
Paris 1986