Musée des beaux-arts, Fine arts museum in Rouen, France

The Musée des Beaux-Arts occupies a building on the Place Verdrel in central Rouen, designed by architect Louis Sauvageot and opened in 1888. Its stone facade is articulated around a projecting central bay, and inside a monumental staircase leads up to the galleries, where paintings, sculptures and prints are shown across several levels.

The museum was founded in the early 1800s following national reforms and began with a collection of paintings. Over time, significant artworks were acquired that expanded the holdings and strengthened its standing as an art institution.

The museum keeps the name given to the collection opened to the public in 1809, when Rouen turned the former Jesuit college into exhibition rooms. Visitors can see the large donation of 1909, when François Depeaux gave his Impressionist paintings, and the ceramic collection assembled by Jules Hédou.

The museum is located in central Rouen and is easy to reach on foot from nearby areas. Visitors should allow time for a relaxed walk through the different galleries, as there is considerable content to explore.

The museum holds one of France's largest collections of paintings by Théodore Géricault, including a study for The Raft of the Medusa. A bequest from the collector Jean-Louis-Henri Le Vaillant de La Fieffe brought these works to Rouen, far from the capital.