Information

The Musée des Beaux-Arts et d’Archéologie holds an exceptional collection of Flemish, Dutch, and German art, in particular paintings (over 300) and graphic works. Its collection of five paintings by Lucas Cranach, assembled by Jean Gigoux and bequeathed to the museum in 1894, is one of the most important in France. The monumental triptych Our Lady Triptych of the Seven Sorrows, painted by Bernard van Orley around 1530, is one of the collections’ masterpieces. It has recently undergone a thorough restoration that has brought to light a rich iconography within an original sixteenth-century frame. A section of the museum is dedicated to seventeenth-century Flemish and Dutch still lifes with some fine pieces by Pieter and Willem Claesz, while the prints and drawings room abounds with wonders, including sheets by Peter Paul Rubens, Jacob Jordaens, and Rembrandt.

Virginie Guffroy, Curator (March 2025)

Collection catalogues

Musée des beaux-arts et d’archéologie de Besançon: Guide des collections
Cosnuau, Julien
Silvana Editoriale (Milan) 2018

From Bellini to Bonnard: great masterpieces
Pinette, Matthieu; Françoise Soulier-François
Besançon 1992