Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'Archéologie de Chaumont has its origins in revolutionary seizures, supplemented by acquisitions, donations and deposits of the state in the 19th and 20th centuries. Installed in an ancient palace of the Counts of Champagne of the 13th and 14th centuries, it is deeply redesigned and includes eclectic collections: local archaeology (like the bronze breastplate of Marmesse, 9th-VIIIth centuries BC), sculptures (tombes of Claude de Lorraine and Nicolas de l'Hôpital), French, Italian, Flemish and Dutch paintings, as well as objects related to the chaumonnaise glovery, flourishing industry in the 19th century.

The museum also houses an annex dedicated to cribs, the Museum of the Creche, located near the basilica. The latter exhibits 18th-century Neapolitan crèches, French glass crèches from Nevers (XVIII-XIXth centuries), and a unique collection of Children Jesus wax (XVII-XIXth centuries). These pieces, combined with temporary exhibitions, illustrate the richness of local religious and artisanal heritage, while highlighting various artistic techniques, such as the sculptures of Jean-Baptiste and Edme Bouchardon, major figures of the reign of Louis XV.

The collections cover fields as diverse as national archaeology (from Prehistory to Medieval), decorative arts (ceramic, furniture), nature sciences (geology, paleontology), and military collections (arms, armor). This museum, labeled Musée de France, thus reflects local and regional history, while offering a panorama of technical and industrial know-how, as evidenced by the archives, moulds, and ethnological objects exhibited.

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