Orléans Museums celebrate their 200th anniversary!
December 30, 1823 - December 30, 2023: on this day two centuries ago, the city of Orléans published a decree for the creation of a natural history museum and cabinet. The idea was not new, but it took the determination of André Gaspard Parfait de Bizemont-Prunelé, deputy mayor Florizel de Drouin, comte de Rocheplatte, to bring to fruition the dream that Orléans amateur Aignan Thomas Desfriches had planted forty years earlier in the mind of the young man he was then. Together, they had founded the Ecole gratuite de dessin in 1786, a school destined to train artists in Orléans to this day.
Two years later, on November 4, 1825, the Musée d'Orléans opened its doors in the Hôtel des Créneaux, already rich with hundreds of objects collected thanks to the generosity of donors and the persuasion of the Comte de Bizemont, who became the first director of the new institution.
François Louis Gounod (1758-1823), Portrait of André Gaspard Parfait de Bizemont-Prunelé, late 18th - early 19th century, black stone and estompe, 24.5×19 cm, inv. 2023.26.1
Museum of Fine ArtsA beautiful birthday gift
To celebrate this anniversary, the Amis des Musées d'Orléans have just donated François-Louis Gounod's portrait of the Comte de Bizemont to the Musée des Beaux-Arts. This portrait was known only from an engraving, and reappeared on sale in Lyon a month before the anniversary date. A very timely calendar, allowing for this beautiful and meaningful gift!
The drawing will be on display during the vacations at the 2e floor of the Musée des Beaux-Arts, next to the bust of the founder that greets visitors at the start of the tour.