Musée des Beaux-Arts de Pau, Fine arts museum in Pau, France
The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Pau occupies a white, smooth-walled parallelepiped measuring 31 by 34.5 metres, built by architect Jacques Ruillier. Its west facade is symmetrical, with five bays divided by fluted pilasters; three large doors on the central bays are topped by first-floor windows, and the name is inscribed in dark capitals above them. Inside, galleries are arranged around an atrium, and a monumental double marble staircase displays large-format works.
Founded on 15 March 1864 by the Société des Amis des Arts de Pau and its president Charles Le Cœur, the museum first showed its works in the Parlement de Navarre, then moved to the town's former asylum in 1881. Its own building, designed by Parisian architect Jacques Ruillier, was begun on 1 April 1929 on the asylum site, financed by promoter Henri Lillaz, and inaugurated by Louis Barthou in 1931. Closed in 1942, it reopened in 1953 after repairs to water leaks.
The museum's name comes from the Société des Amis des Arts de Pau, which founded it in 1864 and still gave its annual salon works bought for the collection. Two rooms were named after Charles Le Cœur, its first curator, and the lawyer Émile Noulibos, whose annual income of 8,000 francs funded purchases of contemporary French art. The 2019 works joined the museum with the former library, now home to the École supérieure d'art et de design des Pyrénées.
The museum stands on the site of Pau's former asylum, where its collections were housed from 1881. The west facade has five bays with three large doors, reached by wide stone steps. Inside, a monumental double marble staircase leads to the first floor, where large-format works such as Eugène Devéria's The Birth of Henry IV hang.
The museum holds Edgar Degas' painting 'A Cotton Office in New Orleans' from 1873, one of his rare works depicting the business world. This uncommon piece shows Degas exploring a different subject matter from his well-known ballet scenes.
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