Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Berry Museum finds its origins in a collection founded by Claude-Denis Mater, formalized in 1834 by a prefectoral decree of the Count of Lapparent. Originally installed in a room in the Palais Jacques-Coeur, he moved in 1837 to a rented house on Rue Jacques-Coeur, just avoiding a new transfer in 1844 thanks to the purchase of the premises. After Mater's death in 1862, the prefect reorganized his management under the direction of Jules Dumoutet, renamed the Mater Museum, then the Bourges Museum in 1863 before ceding it to the city in 1864. The definitive installation in the Hotel Cujas in 1891 marks a turning point, with a diversification of collections (archaeology, fine arts, ethnography) and the adoption of its current name in 1912.

The collections, enriched by donations, bequests and deposits of the State, cover regional archaeology (220 Gallo-Roman steles, Egyptian mummy of Djehdor), fine arts (French, Italian and Dutch paintings of the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries) and Berrichonne ethnography (La Borne sandstones, traditional tools). The museum closed in June 2021 for security reasons, prompting a reflection on its renovation and integration into the Bourges museum network.

The Cujas Hotel, built in the 16th century for Italian merchant Durand Salvi, is a Renaissance setting with brick and stone facades. It also houses architectural elements, such as the facade of the Hotel de Vayre. Ranked a Historic Monument, it symbolizes the link between built heritage and collections, from the weeping duke Jean de Berry (XV century) to paintings by Boucher de Bourges or Philippe de Champaigne.

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