Museum Foundation 1973 (≈ 1973)
Created by Max Fourny in his home.
2001
New direction
New direction 2001 (≈ 2001)
Françoise Adnet entrusts the management to Daniel Besseiche.
2004
Acquisition of works
Acquisition of works 2004 (≈ 2004)
Recovery of 500 works by Bages.
2014-2023
Closure and reopening
Closure and reopening 2014-2023 (≈ 2019)
Work and reopening on 8 October 2023.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Key figures
Max Fourny - Founder and collector
Created the museum in 1973.
Françoise Adnet - Widow of Max Fourny
Placed the management in 2001.
Daniel Besseiche - Director and President MIDAN
Directed the museum since 2001.
Origin and history
The International Naive Art Museum (MIDAN) was founded in 1973 by Max Fourny, an amateur and art publisher, in his country house in Vicq. Set in an old 18th-century farmhouse, the museum was expanded to accommodate a naive art collection from travels around the world. The 1,500 works come from more than 55 countries and are distributed between Vicq and the Max Fourny Naif Art Museum in Paris.
In 2001, Françoise Adnet, widow of Max Fourny, entrusted the management of the museum to Daniel Besseiche, who founded the MIDAN association. In 2004, the museum recovered more than 500 works after the closing of the Bages Naive Art Museum. Vicq became the owner of the premises and collections thanks to a donation from the Fourny couple.
Closed for work since 2014, MIDAN reopened on October 8, 2023. Its varied collections (paintings, sculptures, embroidery) come from multiple techniques and cultures. The museum organizes thematic and travelling exhibitions, while promoting naive art nationally and internationally.