Successful reopening of the Draguignan museum

Some museums are no longer fulfilling their mission (see several recent articles). It is fortunate, however, that others are doing exactly the opposite, and that some towns are realising the value of such establishments and their collections. Draguignan, in the Var department of France, has thus just reopened its museum, following work carried out since 2017. Opening, perhaps even more than reopening. Until now, before a real curator was appointed (first Grégoire Hallé, who then left for Chartres, and now Yohan Rimaud), the museum was run by amateurs with few qualifications. Thus, when a painting was found after having been stolen, the director at the time could proudly announce that it was the "Rembrandt of Draguignan" (see the news item of 19/3/14), even though it was only a work "in the manner of", painted in the 18th-century by a French artist.

1. Japanese room with rediscovered wallpaper
Draguignan, Musée des Beaux-Arts
Photo: Didier Rykner

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This painting is now on display because it is of interest, but under its correct attribution, with its companion piece which can now be discovered in the permanent exhibition. The permanent exhibition is spread over two levels, ground floor and first floor, in what was once the Ursuline convent, which was transformed into a museum-library after being purchased by the town in 1940. The museum, which covered just five rooms, took advantage of the departure of the media library for another location: the building closed in 2017 and reopened at the end of 2023 as the Musée des Beaux-Arts. The few remaining decorative elements have been preserved and restored, and a high-quality Japanese-inspired wallpaper was rediscovered during the works (ill. 1) and included in the permanent exhibition, in a room that houses a number of long-term loans from the Musée Guimet.

2. First room of the tour of the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Draguignan
Photo: Didier Rykner

See the image in its page

But let’s start at the beginning, with a first room (ill. 2) bringing together 17th-century and 18th-century French and Italian paintings. Admittedly, the collection is uneven, but there are a few masterpieces worth a visit, such as a remarkable Charity by Simon Vouet (ill. 3) whose history can be summed up as having been "discovered in the museum’s reserves in 1974" (a pleasant surprise, then), a face of Christ as it appears on the veil of Saint Véronique by Philippe de Champaigne (ill. 4) or a magnificent Saint Paul the Hermit by Claude Vignon.

3. Simon Vouet (1590-1649)
Allegory of Charity, c. 1640-1645
Oil on canvas - 97 x 128 cm
Draguignan, Museum of Fine Arts
Photo: MBA de Draguignan

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4. Philippe de Champaigne (1602-1674)
Saint Face
Oil on canvas mounted
on panel - 47 x 34 cm
Draguignan, Musée des Beaux-Arts
Photo: MBA de Draguignan

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We will dwell a little on this painting…