Abbey Museum, Saint-Claude

Situated next to the cathedral of Saint-Claude, in the restored old abbot’s palace (fifteenth - eighteenth century), the abbey museum has a twentieth century collection consisting of items bequeathed to it by artists G. Bardone and R. Genis, and a basement comprising archaeological remains bearing witness to the presence of one of France’s most ancient monasteries.  Representative of French painting between the years 1920 – 1960, the collection is evidence of a figurative movement in which the artists have been grouped together under the name Peintres de la réalité poétique (poetic reality painters) (M. Brianchon, R. Legueult, R. Limouse etc.). Several generations of artists are represented, focussing on R. Dufy, des Nabis (P. Sérusier, E. Vuillard, P. Bonnard etc.) and post cubists (M. Gromaire, A. Beaudin, F. Borès etc.).