Musée Réattu

Arles, France

Musée Réattu is an art museum in Arles, housing paintings, including works by Arles-born painter Jacques Réattu, drawings by Picasso, as well as sculptures and a large collection of photographs.

The museum is housed in the former Grand Priory of the Order of Malta, built in the late 15th century. The building was acquired in 27 parts between 1796 and 1827 by Jacques Réattu, who lived and worked there. Upon his death in 1833, Réattu's daughter Élisabeth Grange inherited the building and her father's collections. The Museum was officially created in 1868, initially featuring the collections and the works of Jacques Réattu. In the 1950s, at the time of the renovations of the building, modern art began entering the collections. Initiated by Lucien Clergue and Jean-Maurice Rouquette in 1965, the foundation of the department of photography was the first of its kind in an arts museum in France. In 1971, Pablo Picasso donated 57 of his recent drawings to the Musée Réattu.

The museum owns 800 paintings and drawings by Jacques Réattu. Twelve exhibition rooms are dedicated to his own works, his collections (mainly 17th century paintings), as well as works by friends, relatives and collaborators, like The Couturiers workshop painted by his uncle Antoine Raspal in the 1780s. Three rooms are dedicated to Picasso and one room to photography. The collections also include contemporary sculptures by César, Richier, Bourdelle, Zadkine and modern paintings by Dufy, Vlaminck and Prassinos, among others.

The collection of photographs comprised over 4,000 works in 2001. Initial gifts by photographers including Richard Avedon, Cecil Beaton, Man Ray, Peter Beard, Werner Bischof, Izis, William Klein and Jean Dieuzaide, as well as by collectors, were followed from 1970 onwards by photographs donated by the artists attending the Rencontres d'Arles.

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Details

Founded: 1868
Category: Museums in France

Rating

4.2/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Craig Priddle (2 years ago)
Beautiful little art gallery and museum. The building itself is lovely.
Radu Vona (2 years ago)
I was impressed by Reattu talent and museum art collection. Worth a visit.
Henry Munroe (3 years ago)
Beautiful museum with some nice pieces from Picasso (24.09.22). Great artworks in metal, wood as well as some audio works.
H. K. (Ianus) (3 years ago)
The painter Jacques Réattu's work is worth discovering and admiring it, but even the museum itself is a beautiful historic building. Don't miss it if you're in Arles and interested in art. Very nice place!
Raffaele Bonsignori (3 years ago)
I enjoyed this museum. There are many interesting paintings and drawings from the 20th and 21th centuries. I also loved a temporary exhibition of sound art installations place among the pictures. It's a kinda small museum so you don't need to spend the hours to visit it all. What should be improved: the panels are in French and they should at least add English translations. I had to use Google Lens on my phone to understand some descriptions.
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