Made in Germany

In partnership with the Institut National d'Histoire de l'ArtArt (INHA), and as part of the "Répertoire des peintures germaniques dans les collections françaises (1300-1550)" (REPEG) research program led by Isabelle Dubois-Brinkmann, head curator of heritage, assisted by Aude Briau, doctoral student in art history in charge of studies and research at the INHA, the Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'Archéologie de Besançon will present an exhibition devoted to German Renaissance paintings from French collections in 2024. At the same time, two other exhibitions forming part of the same project will take place at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Dijon - dealing with 15th century Germanic paintings - and at the Musée Unterlinden in Colmar, which will focus on paintings from the Haut-Rhin region.
As part of its Germanic history - Franche-Comté was attached to the Holy Roman Empire from the 11th to the 13th century, and again from 1493 to 1678 - Besançon now boasts a significant collection of Germanic paintings and graphic arts, thanks to successive donations to the city. Among these are five paintings by Lucas Cranach (1472-1553), an exceptional group from the Jean Gigoux (1806-1894) bequest, which will be one of the highlights of the tour. Regular visitors to the Musée des Beaux-Arts will have the opportunity to see these paintings again, in a new layout and from a fresh perspective, as well as to discover other paintings from the museum's reserves that are rarely seen by visitors.