Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Gassendi Museum, located at 64 Gassendi Boulevard in Digne-les-Bains, is a hybrid establishment combining a museum of natural history and a museum of fine arts. Its origin dates back to an initiative of the Société scientifique des Basses-Alpes, which in 1883 proposed the creation of a departmental museum. A committee was formally formed in 1885 under the chairmanship of Prefect Huet, and the Museum Society was established by prefectural decree in 1889. The museum opened its doors for the first time in 1889 in the former gendarmerie, before settling in 1909 in the premises of the former hospital, acquired by the city in 1904.

The creation of the museum is closely linked to the Martin family, including Paul Martin, painter and first chairman of the study commission, and his son Étienne Martin, curator from 1905 to 1945. He developed the art section thanks to donations from the Association des Artistes Marseillais, of which he was president. The original collections, enriched by local works and landscapes, reflect 19th century cultural eclecticism, mixing ethnographic objects, paintings and furniture.

The museum's spaces include thematic rooms, such as the Cabinet of Stephen Martin, re-establishing the atmosphere of a 19th-century bourgeois salon, or the Landscape Hall, where paintings of Provence and Mediterranean painters are exhibited. A contemporary touch is brought by works by artists such as Andy Goldsworthy or Bernard Plossu, whose photographs document the Haute-Provence Geological Nature Reserve. The museum also houses an ancient art collection, with paintings dating from the 16th to 19th centuries, as well as Italian drawings and contemporary works.

The St. Vincent Hall of Stars and the 19th century Science Hall illustrate the diversity of collections, while the integration of contemporary art works (Herman de Vries, Emma Dusong) demonstrates a desire for dialogue between heritage and contemporary creation. The museum's history thus reflects the evolution of museum practices, from its founding as a local scientific and artistic institution to its present role of conservation and cultural mediation.

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