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Origin and history

The site of the Fénelon Palace has been occupied since the 11th century by the archbishops of Cambrai, serving as a medieval refuge. He owes his name to François de Salignac de La Mothe-Fénelon, Archbishop from 1695 to 1715. Reconstructed in the 18th century by architect Théodore Brongniart, it has a monumental neoclassical portal. After the Revolution, the building became an Austrian barracks, then a cotton mill in 1812, before being bought by the city in 1883 to install a school, a covered market and a public garden. Joined the historical monuments in 1944, it has hosted the Matisse Museum since 1982, created on the initiative of the painter in 1952.

The Matisse Museum, the only museum founded by the artist during his lifetime, was inaugurated in 1952 in the Town Hall of Cateau-Cambrésis, his hometown. Matisse bequeaths 82 works and organizes the arrangement himself, although he will never see the museum completed, dying in 1954. In 1956, Auguste Herbin, another local artist, enriched the collections with 24 works. The museum moved to the Fénelon Palace in 1982 under the leadership of Mayor Roland Grimaldi, becoming departmental in 1992. He underwent major expansions in 2002 and 2024, increasing to 5,000 m2 of exhibition space, and in 2008 received the Tériade donation, including works by Picasso, Chagall and Miró.

The Palais Fénelon, property of the departmental council, combines architectural heritage and museum vocation. Its park and facades, protected since 1944, now frame a museum labeled "Musée de France" since 2003. The collections, centered on Matisse (783 works), Herbin (92 works) and Teriade (590 works), make it a major place for modern art. The building, marked by its neoclassical portal and its turbulent history (box, spinning, school), symbolizes heritage conversion in the service of culture.

Temporary exhibitions, such as Henri Matisse, how I made my books (2024-2025), and successive donations (Matisse family, Teriad) boost programming. The museum, led by Patrice Deparpe since 2014, has relied on recent expansions (2024) to modernize its course. Its local anchor, linked to the birth of Matisse and Herbin in the region, makes it a key cultural actor of the Hauts-de-France, attracting a national and international public.

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