Acquisition of a Work from the Grand Siècle

The collection is enriched by a landmark work from the Grand Siècle. A hub for leading artists, collectors, and patrons in the^18th century, Orléans had already established itself as a true crossroads of the arts in the previous century. Michel Corneille the Elder (Orléans, 1601–Paris, 1664), who from 1630 onward would become one of the principal collaborators of Louis XIII’s great painter Simon Vouet, trained there and began his career there. The Musée des Beaux-Arts d’Orléans was able to acquire an important painting created upon his arrival in Paris, *Zénobie, Queen of Palmyra*, purchased from the Artcurial auction house. It has joined an early work by the artist on the museum’s^second floor, alongside works by La Hyre, Baugin, Bourdon, the young Le Brun, and their contemporaries.