Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The first attempt to create a museum in Etampes dates back to 1795, when "commissioners-artists" were charged with collecting works of art from castles and religious establishments. A conservatory of arts would have briefly occupied the former Cordeliers convent, but the building was sold in 1796, putting an end to this project. The idea arose again in 1850, without immediate success.

In 1875, the Etampes museum finally came into being thanks to the gift of Julie Robert, widow of sculptor Elias Robert, born in the city. The first collections, composed of objects of archaeology and local history, are exhibited in a hall of the Town Hall. In 1883, the museum moved to the Hotel dit Diane de Poitiers (present library), where new rooms were inaugurated in 1888. The collections are enriched by local donations.

The Second World War marked a turning point: in 1940, the works were put on the register for work, but the building was requisitioned by the German army. The collections, scattered in Etampes, suffer major losses. In 1956, the museum reopens in the right wing of the Town Hall, where it remains today, with three fifths of the works destroyed or disappeared. A full inventory was made in 1986, followed by the appointment of a new Conservative in 1989.

In 2005, the museum became intercommunal under the management of the South-Essonne Tamponese Community. His collections cover archaeology (from Prehistory to the Middle Ages), fine arts (drawing, painting, sculpture), local history, and paleontology. It is labeled Musée de France and features local artists from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, as well as contemporary art.

The property is now housed in the Town Hall of Etampes, a historical monument associated with its activity. Despite the vagaries of his history, he retained major assets such as his collection of palaeontology and archaeology of southern Essonne, as well as French paintings and sculptures. Its official address, 7 Place de l'Hôtel de Ville, makes it a central place of local cultural life.

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