At a glance

Type

Municipal fine arts museum

Period

Founded 1787; Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy, 14th–18th century

Style

Ducal palace complex (Gothic, Renaissance, Classical)

Location

Palais des Ducs et des États de Bourgogne, Place de la Libération, 21000 Dijon, France

Coordinates

47.3214° N, 4.7622° E

Overview

The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon occupies the east wing of the Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy, a complex of buildings that served as the seat of one of medieval Europe’s most powerful courts from the 14th to 15th centuries. The museum’s encyclopaedic collection ranges from Egyptian antiquities and Greco-Roman sculpture through medieval and Renaissance masterpieces to 19th- and 20th-century French painting, but it is the Salle des Gardes — the great hall of the Valois dukes, housing the polychrome tomb sculptures — that draws the most scholarly attention. The museum is free to enter and received approximately 180,000 visitors per year before a major renovation completed in 2019.

History

The Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy was constructed in stages from the 14th century under the Valois dukes, who made Dijon the cultural rival of Paris and Bruges. After the duchy’s incorporation into France in 1477, the palace became the seat of the Estates of Burgundy and was partially rebuilt in classical style in the 17th and 18th centuries. The museum was created in 1787, initially to house works confiscated from suppressed religious institutions during the Revolution and to serve as a school of drawing. It received major gifts throughout the 19th century, expanding into the encyclopaedic collection now held, and underwent a comprehensive renovation from 2013 to 2019 that doubled the display area and modernised conservation facilities.

What you see

The Salle des Gardes, the surviving medieval guard room of the dukes’ palace, houses the tomb of Philip the Bold (1363–1404) by Claus Sluter and Claus de Werve, a monument of Burgundian Gothic sculpture whose alabaster mourner figures (pleurants) are among the most emotionally powerful works of medieval art in Europe. Nearby, the tomb of John the Fearless and his wife Margaret of Bavaria continues the tradition with equal virtuosity. Beyond the medieval rooms, the museum presents one of France’s finest collections of 15th- and 16th-century Flemish painting, a large gallery of French academic painting, and the Salle Condé with 17th-century decorative arts from the ducal apartments.

Cultural significance

The Dijon Museum of Fine Arts is indispensable to the study of Burgundian court culture, which in the 14th and 15th centuries produced some of the most innovative art in northern Europe, influencing both French and Flemish traditions. The ducal tombs with their alabaster pleurant figures have been cited by historians as a turning point in European funerary sculpture toward naturalism and individual expression.

Practical information

Address

Palais des Ducs, Place de la Libération, 21000 Dijon, France

Hours

Wednesday–Monday 09:30–18:00; closed Tuesday (check mba.dijon.fr for exceptions)

Admission

Free for permanent collection

Getting there

Dijon is served by TGV from Paris Gare de Lyon (approx. 1 h 35 min) and Lyon Part-Dieu (approx. 1 h 10 min). The museum is a 15-minute walk from Dijon-Ville railway station along the main avenue through the city centre, or reachable by tram (stop: Grangier, Place Darcy). By car, Dijon is at the junction of the A6 (Paris–Lyon) and A31 (Metz–Lyon) motorways.

Sources & resources

• Dijon Museum of Fine Arts — Wikipedia
• Cultural Heritage Online