Musée d'Angoulême 1.98

The Musée d'Angoulême, formerly the Musée des beaux-arts d'Angoulême, is a public museum in Angoulême, France. It is located beside the Angoulême Cathedral in the heart of the historical center of the city, It is classified as a Musée de France, and has important archaeological, ethnographic and artistic collections. It also hosts temporary exhibitions and conferences.OriginsThe Musée d'Angoulême has its origin in an 1838 donation of ten paintings to the city of Angoulême by François Ringuet. Starting in 1868 the French government began to send paintings that had been exhibited in the Paris Salons to Angoulême, where they were first stored in the attic of the old city hall. On 15 August 1869 a museum was opened on the ground floor of the new city hall, where it remained until 1920. On 12 September 1920 the present museum opened in two wings of the former residence of the Bishop of Angoulême. It featured paintings, sculpture and archaeology. The administrative wing continued to be used for other purposes.HistoryDr Jules Lhomme bequeathed a major collection of works of art and ethnography from around the world to the city. The display of this collection was inaugurated by the sculptor Émile Peyronnet, then the curator of the museum, on 17 January 1935. This is one of the best French collections of African and Oceanian works both in terms of number and of quality. In 1983 the museum opened in the whole building after renovation of the wing that had formerly been occupied by the School of Fine Arts. The entire museum was renovated between 2005 and 2008, reopening on 1 March 2008 with of exhibition space.As of 2015 the Musée d'Angoulême was open all year round from Tuesday to Sunday each week, with no charge for admission. The museum provided tours, workshops and conferences.