The (partial) reopening of the Musée des Augustins

We were very concerned about the entrance building constructed in front of the Musée des Augustins (ill. 1). It is indeed a historic monument, and attaching to it in this way, on the south side of the cloister, an appendage (which replaces a wing lost in the 19th century) to create a new entrance, with a very massive design, had us fearing the worst.
If the result is certainly not very happy, it is not the catastrophe we expected, the stone used having a cream white color that does not shock. We do not really understand, however, why brick, the typical material of the city, was not used. The explanation provided by the press kit — lime frequently covered brick facades, especially in the 18th century — is not very convincing, especially since we are no longer in the 18th century.

No heritage catastrophe, therefore, but still the impression of wasted money. No less than seven million euros were needed for this protrusion, when another solution, much simpler and less expensive, was possible: the entrance could perfectly have been installed in the space now dedicated to the bookstore (ill. 2) which has just been installed, and the latter could then have been relocated to the Romanesque sculpture room.
This is also the other failure of the new museum: this renovation should have been the occasion to finally get rid of the museographic layout designed by the very mediocre “artist” Jorge Pardo (ill. 3). This huge room contains very few works, in colors and a layout that do them a disservice. It would have been entirely possible to display just as many, or perhaps even more,…