Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Musée d'art et d'histoire de Saint-Lô, formerly known as the Musée des Beaux-Arts, is located in the Jean Lurçat cultural centre. Its collections, enriched by donations (Feuillet, Follaine, de Castro), include paintings from the seventeenth to twentieth centuries, old tapestries, and historical pieces such as the Marble of Thorigny or a 15th century monetary treasure. A space is dedicated to the Grimaldi family, visited by Prince Albert of Monaco.

Founded in 1835 by the society of agriculture, archaeology and natural history of the Channel, the museum has known several locations. First located on Havin Street, it was destroyed in 1944 during the bombings, with much of its collections scattered or lost. Reconstituted after the war, he joined the Town Hall until 1989, before joining the new cultural centre designed by Eugène Leseney in 1987.

The collections have become richer over time, thanks in particular to major donations, such as that of Sergio de Castro in 2006 (220 works). In 2014, a space dedicated to the history of Saint-Lô was inaugurated. The 2018 renovation revealed 2,560 pieces, including a Virgin with the Child of Del Mazo, loaned by the Louvre. The museum also hosts temporary works, such as a painting by Picasso in 2018 or a tapestry by the Gobelins.

Since 2019, the museum has evolved with work on a new course on the reconstruction of Saint-Lô (from 1950 to today). It houses various works: paintings, tapestries, sculptures (including Le Baiser equestrian de Coutan), medieval coins, and archaeological pieces. A space is dedicated to monetary treasures, and Jean Follain's poetry, inspired by the old collections, is evoked.

In 2024, the museum will exhibit an oil on canvas by Edgar Degas, Portrait of the engraver Desboutin and the engraver Lepic, loaned by the Musée d'Orsay. This place combines national scope, thanks to the diversity of its collections, and local anchor, tracing the history of Saint-Lô from antiquity to the present day.

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