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Key figures

Origin and history

The Francisque Mandet Museum has its origins in the collection of paintings from the 17th to the 19th centuries, acquired in 1866 by the Society of Friends under the impetus of Councilor Francisque Mandet. Originally housed in the Dujouhannel Hotel in Jenzat, it was then transferred to the hotel of Chabrol-Volvic, an 18th-century stone building in Volvic, thanks to a donation from a Riomois. This building, of classic style, is connected to the Hotel Desaix (XVII-XVIIIth centuries) by a gallery serving today as temporary exhibition space.

The museum's collections were enriched by the donation of stickie Édouard Richard and his wife, who offered a thousand art objects. The museum journey begins with rooms dedicated to 17th-century Flemish and Dutch schools (Ykens, Saftleven, J.A. Backer), as well as French works from the 17th and 18th centuries (Natoire, Raoux, Regnault). A whole floor is dedicated to the 19th century, highlighting portraits of illustrious men of Auvergne, regional paintings (Cornet, Berthon, Devedeux) and sculptures (Rodin, Meissonier).

The second part of the museum presents decorative art objects ranging from Antiquity to the eighteenth century, including a rare second-third century funeral portrait discovered in the Fayoum (Egypt). The medieval section presents an auvergnate Romanesque statuary and primitive Italian and Flemish. The furnished rooms of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries highlight civil goldsmiths, including the production of riomoise, and a set of French earthenware. A room is dedicated to weapons collections from the 16th to the 19th centuries.

The hotel of Chabrol-Volvic, in classic style, and the Hotel Desaix, connected by a gallery, form a remarkable architectural ensemble. The first, built of Volvic stone, is organized between courtyard and garden, while the second, dating from the seventeenth to eighteenth centuries, completes this historical setting. The museum benefits from the label Musée de France and is located at 14 rue de l'Hôtel de Ville in Riom, in the department of Puy-de-Dôme.

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