Musée Réattu

The Musée Réattu is a fine arts and contemporary art museum located in Arles, France. Established in 1868, it is situated within the former Grand Priory of the Order of Malta along the Rhone River. The institution is named after the Arles-born painter Jacques Réattu, whose work and personal collection form the historical core of its holdings. Beyond traditional painting, the museum is distinguished by its early and sustained commitment to interdisciplinary art, notably housing the first photography department in a French arts museum, created in 1965, and establishing a pioneering sound art collection in the 2000s. Today, it functions as a dynamic space where heritage and contemporary creation intersect, regularly hosting thematic exhibitions and artist commissions.

The museum was officially created in 1868 when the Municipality of Arles acquired the building and the collections of Jacques Réattu from his daughter, Élisabeth Grange, in exchange for a pension, while allowing her to reside there until her death. Initially, the museum featured the works and collections of Réattu, receiving mixed early reviews; Vincent van Gogh famously dismissed it as dreadful in an 1888 letter to his brother Theo, and an 1891 Baedeker guide noted it contained many copies. By 1901, the museum had six exhibition rooms. A major shift occurred during building renovations in the 1950s, when modern art began entering the collections. In 1965, Lucien Clergue and Jean-Maurice Rouquette initiated the photography department, a first in France. Pablo Picasso donated 57 drawings to the museum in 1971. Sound art entered the collection in 2006, followed by the creation of a dedicated listening room in 2008, the same year a Christian Lacroix exhibition attracted significant public attention. A recent reorganization titled Reattu Reinvente abandoned a strict chronological display in favor of a thematic, evolving parcours, reflecting the institution's ongoing dialogue between historical and contemporary art.

The museum's holdings encompass painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, and sound art. Its foundation rests on 800 paintings and drawings by Jacques Réattu, alongside 17th-century paintings and works by his friends, relatives, and collaborators, such as his uncle Antoine Raspal. Modern and contemporary painting is represented by artists including Raoul Dufy, Maurice de Vlaminck, Mario Prassinos, and Simon Vouet. The photography collection, initiated in 1965, grew from early gifts by photographers like Richard Avedon, Cecil Beaton, and Man Ray into a major archive bolstered by donations from artists at the Rencontres d'Arles, comprising over 4,000 works by 2001 and 3,500 works by 470 photographers by 2022. Contemporary sculpture forms another strength, with pieces by César, Germaine Richier, Antoine Bourdelle, Ossip Zadkine, and Toni Grand. Additionally, the museum has collected design objects, such as contemporary furniture by Frédéric Rhodes, and developed a sound art archive in collaboration with the association Phonurgia Nova.

Signature works in the collection include Antoine Raspal's 1780s painting The Couturiers workshop, a masterpiece of Arlesian genre painting. The museum holds the sketch for Réattu's Justification of Suzanne, the work that earned him the Grand Prix de Rome in 1791. A major highlight is the Pablo Picasso collection, comprising 57 drawings and one or two paintings, donated primarily in 1971, which fill an entire floor. The archives preserve a significant manuscript: a letter from Vincent van Gogh to Paul Gauguin written in Arles on January 21, 1889, which mentions his famous painting of sunflowers in a vase against a yellow background. The photography department holds works by Werner Bischof, Izis, William Klein, and Jean Dieuzaide, among others, while the modern and contemporary art holdings feature paintings by Alechinsky and sculptures by Germaine Richier and Toni Grand.

The museum is housed in the former Grand Priory of the Order of Malta, a late 15th-century building located at 10 rue du Grand-Prieuré on the left bank of the Rhone. Initially constructed as the seat of a commandry, the structure began housing Grand Priors in 1562 and was elevated to a Grand Priory in 1615, overseeing forty-eight commandries. The building's position on a broad bend of the Rhone creates a dramatic spatial effect, particularly in the large first-floor hall where the river's expanse visually overwhelms the viewer, giving the impression of standing on a ship. Following a decree by the National Convention in September 1792, the possessions of the Order of Malta in France were confiscated, and the Grand Priory was sold in parts in 1793. Jacques Réattu acquired the property in 27 parts between 1796 and 1827, living and working there until his death in 1833. Over time, the building accommodated a mount of piety, a tobacco warehouse, and a drawing school. A comprehensive renovation took place from 1956 to 1964, during which the architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte redesigned the rooms dedicated to Picasso in 1991. The structure has been listed as a monument historique since 1958.

The Musée Réattu is located at 10 Rue du Grand Prieuré, 13200 Arles, France, within the Camargue Regional Nature Park. It operates as the Museum of Fine Arts for the city of Arles. The museum provides 2,500 square meters of permanent exhibition space and 200 square meters for temporary exhibitions. It is equipped with tactile tablets, tactile artworks, videos, and guided tours in French Sign Language (LSF) to accommodate visitors with accessibility requirements. The museum is open daily from 10 am to 6 pm between March and October, with admission closing at 5:30 pm, and is closed exceptionally on May 1st. As of current listings, full price admission is 8 euros, and reduced price admission is 6 euros.