Musée Thomas-Henry
Encyclopedia
The Musée des beaux-arts Thomas Henry is a museum at Cherbourg-Octeville
(Manche) with around 300 artworks, mainly paintings from the 15th to 19th centuries. It has been rated as the third most important collection in Normandy.
, town councillor and art critic - having lost his two sons, he wanted to allow the city's young people to gain an education in art. These young people included Jean-François Millet
, who copied paintings in the museum.
In 1836, a museum was formed from these 164 paintings, including works by Italian 'primitives' such as Fra Angelico
(The Conversion of Saint Augustine) and Filippo Lippi
(The Burial). The foundational collection was completed by gifts from other inhabitants of Cherbourg, including capitaine Troude (1844), Armand Le Véel
(a sculptor and curator of the museum) and the Ono family (who gave Millet's work in 1915). From 1965, the city decided to supplement private donations and state funding for acquisitions, in favour of the Millet fund.
Initially housed in the Hôtel de ville, the museum re-opened in a dedicated cultural centre in 1983, alongside the bibliothèque municipale Jacques-Prévert, on the site of the city's former grain Halles. It received 30,554 visitors in 2009, compared to 18,957 visitors in 2007.
'. It notably includes a large number of paintings and sculptures by local artists. The most important works include:
Cherbourg-Octeville
-Main sights:* La Glacerie has a race track.* The Cité de la Mer is a large museum devoted to scientific and historical aspects of maritime subjects.* Cherbourg Basilica* Jardin botanique de la Roche Fauconnière, a private botanical garden.* Le Trident theatre...
(Manche) with around 300 artworks, mainly paintings from the 15th to 19th centuries. It has been rated as the third most important collection in Normandy.
History
It was formed after a series of anonymous donations to the city between 1831 and 1835, totalling 164 paintings and later revealed to have been made by Thomas HenryThomas Henry (patron of the arts)
Bon-Thomas Henry, born in 1766, Cherbourg, France, where he died in 1836, was a French painter and patron of the arts.Henry began life as a merchant, travelling to Haiti until the revolution there. He returned to France and studied painting and particularly restoration with Jean-Baptiste Regnault...
, town councillor and art critic - having lost his two sons, he wanted to allow the city's young people to gain an education in art. These young people included Jean-François Millet
Jean-François Millet
Jean-François Millet was a French painter and one of the founders of the Barbizon school in rural France...
, who copied paintings in the museum.
In 1836, a museum was formed from these 164 paintings, including works by Italian 'primitives' such as Fra Angelico
Fra Angelico
Fra Angelico , born Guido di Pietro, was an Early Italian Renaissance painter described by Vasari in his Lives of the Artists as having "a rare and perfect talent"...
(The Conversion of Saint Augustine) and Filippo Lippi
Filippo Lippi
Fra' Filippo Lippi , also called Lippo Lippi, was an Italian painter of the Italian Quattrocento .-Biography and works:...
(The Burial). The foundational collection was completed by gifts from other inhabitants of Cherbourg, including capitaine Troude (1844), Armand Le Véel
Armand Le Véel
Armand Le Véel was a French statue sculptor. He was a native of Bricquebec, in the département of Manche. Napoléon III inaugurated his equestrian tribute to Napoleon I in Cherbourg in 1858. Many of his works are on exhibition at the Beaux-arts Museum of Bordeaux...
(a sculptor and curator of the museum) and the Ono family (who gave Millet's work in 1915). From 1965, the city decided to supplement private donations and state funding for acquisitions, in favour of the Millet fund.
Initially housed in the Hôtel de ville, the museum re-opened in a dedicated cultural centre in 1983, alongside the bibliothèque municipale Jacques-Prévert, on the site of the city's former grain Halles. It received 30,554 visitors in 2009, compared to 18,957 visitors in 2007.
Collection
The museum's collection is wide-ranging and it has been nicknamed the 'little LouvreLouvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
'. It notably includes a large number of paintings and sculptures by local artists. The most important works include:
- early Italian artists, including Fra AngelicoFra AngelicoFra Angelico , born Guido di Pietro, was an Early Italian Renaissance painter described by Vasari in his Lives of the Artists as having "a rare and perfect talent"...
(The conversion of Saint Augustine) ; - Italian painters from the Renaissance to the 18th century, including Filippino LippiFilippino LippiFilippino Lippi was an Italian painter working during the High Renaissance in Florence, Italy.-Biography:...
(The Burial), Sebastiano Mainardi, Domenico PuligoDomenico PuligoDomenico Puligo was an Italian painter of the Renaissance, active in Florence. His real name was Domenico di Bartolommeo Ubaldini....
, Jacopo BassanoJacopo BassanoJacopo Bassano , known also as Jacopo dal Ponte, was an Italian painter who was born and died in Bassano del Grappa near Venice, from which he adopted the name.- Life :...
, Lavinia FontanaLavinia FontanaLavinia Fontana was an Italian painter.-Biography:Lavinia Fontana was born in Bologna, the daughter of the painter Prospero Fontana, who was a prominent painter of the School of Bologna at the time and served as her teacher...
, Palma the Younger, Francesco FuriniFrancesco FuriniFrancesco Furini was an Italian Baroque painter of Florence.His early training was by Matteo Rosselli , though Furini is also described as influenced by Domenico Passignano and Giovanni Biliverti . He befriended Giovanni da San Giovanni...
, Bartolomeo SchedoniBartolomeo SchedoniBartolomeo Schedoni was an Italian early Baroque painter from Reggio Emilia.-Biography:He was born in Modena, but moved to Parma with his father. Soon he was sent to be apprenticed under Federico Zuccari in Rome after 1598, with the sponsorship of Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma. He soon...
, Carlo SaraceniCarlo SaraceniCarlo Saraceni was an Italian early-Baroque painter, whose reputation as a "first-class painter of the second rank" was improved with the publication of a modern monograph in 1968....
, Francesco SolimenaFrancesco SolimenaFrancesco Solimena was a prolific Italian painter of the Baroque era, one of an established family of painters and draughtsmen.-Biography:Francesco Solimena was born in Canale di Serino, near Avellino....
, Giovanni Paolo PanniniGiovanni Paolo PanniniGiovanni Paolo Panini or Pannini was a painter and architect, who worked in Rome and is mainly known as one of the vedutisti ....
; - Flemish and Dutch art, including Paul Bril, Jacob JordaensJacob JordaensJacob Jordaens was one of three Flemish Baroque painters, along with Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck, to bring prestige to the Antwerp school of painting. Unlike those contemporaries he never traveled abroad to study Italian painting, and his career is marked by an indifference to their...
(Adoration of the Magi), Frans II Francken, Pieter Van MolPieter van MolPieter Van Mol was a Flemish painter. His style was profoundly influenced by Rubens and Abraham Janssen.-Life:...
, Willem van AelstWillem van AelstWillem van Aelst was a Dutch artist who specialized in still-life painting with flowers or game.-Biography:...
, Jan van KesselJan van KesselJan van Kessel may refer to one of four 17th century painters:* Jan van Kessel, senior, Flemish Baroque painter from Antwerp specialized in flower painting* Jan van Kessel, junior, his son, specialized in painting flowers and insects...
, Jacob van LooJacob van LooJacob van Loo was a Flemish painter who is considered one of the Dutch Masters of the 17th Century. Van Loo is known for his conversational groupings, his use of a subtle color palette and his nudes. He was the founder of the Van Loo family of painters.- Biography :Van Loo was born in Sluis,...
, Jan Frans van BloemenJan Frans van BloemenJan Frans van Bloemen was a Flemish landscape painter of the Baroque period.Born in Antwerp, van Bloemen was a younger brother of Pieter van Bloemen, who had left for Rome in 1674, where Jan Frans joined him in 1689. In 1690 a third painting brother, Norbert van Bloemen , joined them as well...
, Melchior d'HondecoeterMelchior d'HondecoeterMelchior d'Hondecoeter , Dutch animalier painter, was born in Utrecht and died in Amsterdam. After the start of his career, he painted virtually exclusively bird subjects, usually exotic or game, in park-like landscapes...
, Rachel RuyschRachel RuyschRachel Ruysch was a Dutch artist who specialized in still-life paintings of flowers, one of only three significant women artists in Dutch Golden Age painting, of whom Maria van Oosterwijk was also a flower painter, and Judith Leyster mainly not .She was born in The...
, Gérard de LairesseGerard de LairesseGerard or Gérard de Lairesse was a Dutch Golden Age painter and art theorist.Lairesse was born in Liège. His broad range of talent included music, poetry, and the theatre. He was perhaps the most celebrated Dutch painter in the period following the death of Rembrandt...
, BrueghelJan Brueghel the ElderJan Brueghel the Elder was a Flemish painter, son of Pieter Bruegel the Elder and father of Jan Brueghel the Younger. Nicknamed "Velvet" Brueghel, "Flower" Brueghel, and "Paradise" Brueghel, of which the latter two were derived from his floral still lifes which were his favored subjects, while the...
and Hendrick van BalenHendrick van BalenHendrik van Balen was a Flemish Baroque painter.-Biography:Van Balen was born and died in Antwerp. He was a pupil of Adam van Noort and studied art while traveling in Italy...
; - Spanish 17th century painters, including Bartolomé Esteban MurilloBartolomé Estéban MurilloBartolomé Esteban Murillo was a Spanish Baroque painter. Although he is best known for his religious works, Murillo also produced a considerable number of paintings of contemporary women and children...
(Christ at Calvary) and Francisco de Herrera the Elder ; - French 17th and 18th century painters, including Nicolas PoussinNicolas PoussinNicolas Poussin was a French painter in the classical style. His work predominantly features clarity, logic, and order, and favors line over color. His work serves as an alternative to the dominant Baroque style of the 17th century...
(Pietà), Philippe de ChampaignePhilippe de ChampaignePhilippe de Champaigne was a Flemish-born French Baroque era painter, a major exponent of the French school.-Early life:Born in Brussels of a poor family, Champaigne was a pupil of the landscape painter Jacques Fouquières...
, Eustache Le SueurEustache Le SueurEustache Le Sueur or Lesueur , one of the founders of the French Academy of Painting, was born in Paris, where he passed his whole life....
, Simon VouetSimon VouetSimon Vouet was a French painter and draftsman, who today is perhaps best remembered for helping to introduce the Italian Baroque style of painting to France.-Life:...
, Jacques StellaJacques Stella-Life:Stella was born in Lyon. His father was François Stella, a painter and merchant of Flemish origin, but he died too soon to train Jacques in painting. Jacques's siblings included François , Françoise and Madeleine...
, Charles de La FosseCharles de La FosseCharles de La Fosse , French painter, was born in Paris.He was one of the most noted and least servile pupils of Le Brun, under whose direction he shared in the chief of the great decorative works undertaken in the reign of Louis XIV. Leaving France in 1662, he spent two years in Rome and three in...
, Hyacinthe RigaudHyacinthe RigaudHyacinthe Rigaud was a French baroque painter of Catalan origin whose career was based in Paris.He is renowned for his portrait paintings of Louis XIV, the royalty and nobility of Europe, and members of their courts and considered one of the most notable French portraitists of the classical period...
, Nicolas de Largillierre, Adam Frans van der Meulen, Jean-Baptiste OudryJean-Baptiste OudryJean-Baptiste Oudry was a French Rococo painter, engraver, and tapestry designer. He is particularly well known for his naturalistic pictures of animals and his hunt pieces depicting game.-Biography:...
, Pierre SubleyrasPierre SubleyrasPierre Subleyras was a French painter, active during the late-Baroque and early-Neoclassic period, mainly in Italy....
, Jean Siméon Chardin, Jean-Baptiste GreuzeJean-Baptiste GreuzeJean-Baptiste Greuze was a French painter.-Early life:He was born at Tournus, Saône-et-Loire. He is generally said to have formed his own talent; this is, however, true only in the most limited sense, for at an early age his inclinations, though thwarted by his father, were encouraged by a...
, Joseph Vernet, Hubert RobertHubert RobertHubert Robert , French artist, was born in Paris.His father, Nicolas Robert, was in the service of François-Joseph de Choiseul, marquis de Stainville a leading diplomat from Lorraine...
, and Jacques Louis David. - the second most important collection of paintings and drawings by Jean-François MilletJean-François MilletJean-François Millet was a French painter and one of the founders of the Barbizon school in rural France...
after that of the musée d'OrsayMusée d'OrsayThe Musée d'Orsay is a museum in Paris, France, on the left bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, an impressive Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1915, including paintings, sculptures, furniture,...
; - several paintings by Guillaume FouaceGuillaume FouaceGuillaume Fouace was a French painter. He produced over 700 paintings in a realist style, mainly portraits, still lifes and landscapes - the Musée d'Orsay has some of them, whilst 40 are displayed in a 'Salle de Fouace' at the Musée Thomas-Henry in Cherbourg-Octeville.- Life :Born to farmers in...
, sculptures by Armand Le VéelArmand Le VéelArmand Le Véel was a French statue sculptor. He was a native of Bricquebec, in the département of Manche. Napoléon III inaugurated his equestrian tribute to Napoleon I in Cherbourg in 1858. Many of his works are on exhibition at the Beaux-arts Museum of Bordeaux...
, and works by artists from the Nord-Cotentin or represented there (including Gatteville by Paul SignacPaul SignacPaul Signac was a French neo-impressionist painter who, working with Georges Seurat, helped develop the pointillist style.-Biography:Paul Victor Jules Signac was born in Paris on 11 November 1863...
), and other 19th century French painters, including Théodore RousseauThéodore RousseauPierre Étienne Théodore Rousseau , French painter of the Barbizon school, was born in Paris, of a bourgeois family.-Youth:At first he received a business training, but soon displayed aptitude for painting...
and Eugène BoudinEugène BoudinEugène Boudin was one of the first French landscape painters to paint outdoors.Boudin was a marine painter, and expert in the rendering of all that goes upon the sea and along its shores...
.
Temporary exhibitions
The musée Thomas-Henry has held a biennial exhibition of comic art since 2000 :- 2000 : Enki BilalEnki BilalEnes Bilal is a French comic book creator, comics artist and film director.-Biography:Born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, to a Slovak mother and a Bosnian father who had been Josip Broz Tito's tailor, he moved to Paris at the age of 9. At age 14, he met René Goscinny and with his encouragement applied...
- 2002 : François SchuitenFrançois SchuitenBaron François Schuiten is a Belgian comic book artist. He is best known for drawing the series Les Cités Obscures.-Biography:François Schuiten was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1956....
- 2004 : André JuillardAndré JuillardAndré Juillard is a French comic book creator.-Biography:Born in Paris, Juillard is one of the most prolific artists of historical comics in France. His career began in 1974...
- 2008 : Jacques de LoustalJacques de LoustalJacques de Loustal is a French comics artist who uses a painterly style reminiscent of David Hockney.-Biography:...
- 2009 : Hugo PrattHugo PrattHugo Eugenio Pratt was an Italian comic book creator who was known for combining strong storytelling with extensive historical research on works such as Corto Maltese...
- 2011 : MœbiusJean GiraudJean Henri Gaston Giraud is a French comics artist. Giraud has earned worldwide fame, not only under his own name but also under the pseudonym Moebius, and to a lesser extent Gir, the latter appearing mostly in the form of a boxed signature at the bottom of the artist's paintings, for instance the...