Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Orléans, Saran

History

The museum was founded during the French Revolution by the initiative of Jean Bardin, director of the school of drawing of the city and of Aignan-Thomas Desfriches, in 1797. The museum was installed in the Palais épiscopal d'Orléans, an ancient college, in 1799. In 1804, the museum was closed and the collections were placed in the Jardin des plantes d’Orléans. The museum was reopened on December 30, 1823, by the initiative of the count and mayor of Rocheplatte and the count of Bizemont-Prunelé, André Gaspard Parfait, who eventually becomes the director of the museum. The museum was then installed in l’hôtel des Créneaux. In 1855, the historical collections were separated from the art collections to form the Musée Historique et Archéologique de l’Orléanais, which moved into the Hotel Cabu. Several donators contributed to the enrichment of the collections of the museum during the 19th century, among which the madame of Limay, the daughter of Aignan-Thomas Desfriches, Eudoxe Marcille, and artists such as Henry de Triqueti and Léon Cogniet.