"This mixture of eras, this mixture of styles, this journey across all continents, there will be something for everyone", enthuses Bruno Retailleau, who initiated the project when he was president of the Country region. Of the loire.
"This eclecticism is an asset", argues the politician about the collection of Martine and Léon Cligman. The couple, who live in Paris, have collected over the years more than 500 works, dating from 2.000 BC for the oldest and produced in the 1960s for the most recent.
"Intangible goods, works of the mind are essential to our social life", underlines Mr. Retailleau. Visitors, he specifies, will not be able to come from December 19, as initially planned, but will be welcome in Fontevraud as soon as the health situation allows.
The museum brings together paintings, drawings and sculptures. It also allows you to discover the history of the Royal Abbey, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as the life of the Cligman couple, an industrialist and an artist who gave their private collection to the State and to the region.
"It is an abbey which in its dimension is quite exceptional on a European scale; then, it is a necropolis of English sovereigns; therefore, in fact, we have an audience here which has a strong British connotation", summarizes Christophe Batard, chief architect of historical monuments who rehabilitated the place.
Built from the 1814th century, the abbey was transformed into a prison in XNUMX and the prison universe is very present in the architecture of the museum where the choice of furniture and lighting has been studied with great care.
Rodin, Delaunay and ibeji twins
The museum building has "a very austere, very raw side, which was very interesting for us to exploit", explains Christophe Batard. Near the building is the church where Richard the Lionheart, King of England from 1189 to 1199, and his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, rest, as well as a starred restaurant.
The museum is not organized according to eras or geography because the works come from five continents, but, over the rooms, magnificent pieces are highlighted.
We can in particular admire a self-portrait of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, painted in 1884, a bust of Balzac made by Auguste Rodin, a canvas by Robert Delaunay and antiques found on the island of Cyprus as in the Cyclades archipelago.
Fans of ancient Egypt and primitive art will be fascinated by several funeral masks which are displayed near statuettes of ibeji twins from Nigeria.
"Born from the generosity of Martine and Léon Cligman, (...) this new museum is a remarkable testimony to the enrichment of public collections by a private collection", underlines the Minister of Culture, Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, in the brochure presenting the project.
Now aged 100 and 88 and married for six decades, Martine and Léon Cligman explained that they "wanted to give back to France what it gave us".
He made a fortune in the textile industry with factories located in Tours, Angers or Cholet. She is an artist and daughter of a couple of collectors: Pierre and Denise Lévy who are at the origin of the Museum of Modern Art in Troyes (Aube).