As part of the renovation and extension work entrusted to the Portuguese agency Aires Mateus, the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Reims is continuing to programme off-site exhibitions of its collections in Reims and elsewhere in France and abroad while it is closed. Along with painting and sculpture, the graphic arts are the ambassadors of its collections. Before the museum reopens at the end of 2026, the invitation of honour extended to the 33rd Salon du Dessin in Paris will provide an opportunity to highlight this rich collection.

For this very special occasion, the exhibition has been narrowed down to present both exceptional and well-known works, as well as lesser-known works that are directly linked to the identity of the future museum. This is a symbolic way of evoking the permanent exhibition, which will be spread over more than 3,200 m2, taking visitors on a five-century journey through French and European art, from the Renaissance to Art Deco, via Grand Siècle painting, landscape painting, the Grand Jeu and Surrealism, and the unclassifiable work of Léonard Foujita.

Among the 46 drawings selected for this event will be the incredible series of thirteen portraits by Lucas Cranach Le Jeune, as well as works by Simon Vouet, Charles Le Brun, Robert Nanteuil, Jean-François Millet, Paul Jouve, Jean Goulden, Maurice Henry, Maria-Helena Vieira Da Silva and Léonard Foujita. From ancient to modern and contemporary art, all these leaves will be worthy representatives of a collection of over 15,000 items, some of which are already available online on the Reims museums website.

Jean-François MILLET
Gruchy, 1814 - Barbizon, 1875

Bergère dormant à l’ombre d’un buisson de chênes

circa 1874
Dry pastel and black pencil on slightly textured beige paper with irregular cut edges
67.9 x 94.5 cm

Legacy Jules WARNIER-DAVID, 26/06/1899
Museum of Fine Arts(inv. 899.16.8)

Photo: Christian Devleeschauwer

Long known as the "Michelangelo of peasants," this drawing reveals a resolutely modern artist.

A melancholic figure, bathed in marked shadows and light, this sleeping shepherdess commands attention through her sculptural and synthetic monumentality.

The rendering is powerful. Van Gogh, Pissarro, Seurat, Gauguin, Permeke, Dali and more recently Banksy have clearly identified the inventiveness of the compositions by the master of "The Angelus" (Paris, Musée d'Orsay).

All these extraordinary artists have paid tribute to him in their own works.

The Museum of Fine Arts in Reims holds twelve works by Millet which reveal here his talents as a pastelist: a free artistic expression blending poetry and realism.

Musée de Beaux-Arts de Reims

8 Rue Chanzy
51100 Reims
Tél + 33 (0)3 26 35 36 00
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