Musée Arcabas en Chartreuse, Contemporary sacred art museum in Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse, France.
The Musée Arcabas en Chartreuse is a contemporary sacred art museum housed in a 19th-century church building. The space displays paintings, stained glass, sculptures, and furnishings all created or designed by artist Jean-Marie Pirot, known as Arcabas.
In February 1952 Arcabas, then 25, met Father Raymond Truffot and began painting the church of Saint-Hugues, whose roof and floor were under repair. A red jute frieze painted with egg, sugar and honey followed that year. In 1972 he added the Couronnement in 31 linen canvases, then 53 more; the museum status came in 1984, the Prédelle in 1985 and the Christ mort in 1992 for Truffot.
The church's name comes from Saint Hugues, the hamlet where it stands. Arcabas painted a red jute frieze in 1952 that circles the nave and links two lunette frescoes: human life and the Commandments below, divine life in the choir. In 1972 he added the Couronnement, 31 linen canvases with a chromatic circle and gold.
The museum occupies the church of Saint-Hugues-de-Chartreuse in the hamlet of the same name, within the Chartreuse regional nature park. The building is reached from Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse, one of the communes of the massif; Grenoble, Chambéry and Voiron serve as the three gateway cities to the Chartreuse. Inside, rows of wooden benches face the raised altar beneath the arched mural, with framed works along the side walls.
Arcabas painted the first red jute frieze in 1952 using egg, sugar and honey as binders. In 1972 he added the Couronnement, 31 linen canvases with gold and a chromatic circle, and in 1992 the Christ mort in memory of priest Raymond Truffot.
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