Musée Léon-Dierx, Art museum in Saint-Denis, Réunion.
The Musée Léon-Dierx is an art museum in Saint-Denis, Reunion that holds modern and classical works in its galleries. The two-story building contains multiple exhibition spaces showing both local and international creators.
The museum opened to the public on 12 November 1912, the second museum created on Réunion after the natural history museum. It was driven by the childhood friends Georges Athénas and Aimé Merlo, who wrote under the name Marius-Ary Leblond, and installed in the former bishops' residence, the Maison Manès, built between 1843 and 1846. The old house was demolished in 1963 and the rebuilt museum reopened in 1965.
The museum takes its name from a local poet and displays works that reflect the artistic output of the region. Visitors can see how island perspectives shape the artworks presented by different creators throughout the galleries.
The museum sits in central Saint-Denis and is easily reached on foot from main streets. Visitors should expect a relatively compact exhibition space within the historic building.
In 1947 Lucien Vollard, brother of the Paris art dealer Ambroise Vollard, donated 157 works by 63 artists to the museum, including paintings by Cézanne, Gauguin and Renoir. The shipment arrived by boat from Paris and was shown to the public the same year.
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