Museum of Fine Arts of Reims

The origins of the museum trace to 1752, when Antoine Ferrand de Monthelon, founder of the city's school of drawings, bequeathed his collection to the city of Reims. Following the Revolution, Nicolas Bergeat organized the seizure of artworks from Catholic institutions in Reims, with the first official deposit recorded on 10 Vendémiaire, Year II in the former hospice of Magneuses. The Museum of Fine Arts was formally founded in 1794 from revolutionary confiscations and initially housed in the town hall. Public access began under the regulation of 11 Germinal, Year VIII, with openings every fifth day from nine o'clock until noon.

Throughout the 19th century, collections expanded through purchases and bequests. In 1908, the city acquired the former Saint-Denis Abbey to serve as a permanent home. The abbey, whose construction began in the 9th century under Archbishop Fulk on the site of a former cemetery, had served various functions since the Revolution: district headquarters under the Directory, storage for artworks from sold churches, barracks for Russian occupation troops in 1814-1815, and from 1822, a grand seminary. The 1905 law on the Separation of Churches and State led to the seminary's closure in 1906, enabling the museum's transfer. After renovation, President Raymond Poincaré reopened the museum on 19 October 1913. The building sustained damage during the First World War while collections remained on site.

Curators before the First World War included Charles Loriquet, Eugène Courmeaux, and Henri Jadart, followed by Paul Jamot (1927-1939) and Régine Pernoud (1947). A major renovation and expansion project was announced in 2018, with the Portuguese firm Francisco Aires Mateus selected for the design. The museum closed on 22 September 2019; after study phases, archaeological excavations, and relocation of works to external storage through late 2020, construction commenced with reopening projected for 2025.

Among the museum's signature works are thirteen exceptional portrait drawings on paper by Lucas Cranach the Elder, displayed in rotation in a dedicated room. The 17th-century French school includes Nicolas Poussin's Landscape with a Woman Washing Her Feet (a version of which is also at the Musée Condé in Chantilly), Simon Vouet's Assumption of the Virgin, and multiple works by the Le Nain brothers, native to the Reims region, including Venus at the Forge of Vulcan and The Card Players. Other notable 17th-century French painters represented are Philippe de Champaigne, Jacques-Louis David (The Death of Marat, a replica of the Brussels version), and Charles Le Brun.

The 19th-century holdings feature the exceptional Corot collection alongside Eugène Delacroix, Jean-François Millet, Gustave Courbet, and Claude Monet (Ravine of the Creuse at Day's End, 1889, and The Rocks of Belle-Isle). Impressionist and Post-Impressionist representation includes Camille Pissarro, Alfred Sisley, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Gauguin (Still Life with Maori Statuette, c. 1890), and Édouard Vuillard. The 20th century is represented by Henri Matisse (Reader in a Violet Dress), Pierre Bonnard, Raoul Dufy, and Vieira da Silva, among others. Works by Giorgio de Chirico and Léonard Foujita are on deposit from the Musée National d'Art Moderne.

The museum occupies the former Saint-Denis Abbey, located near Reims Cathedral. The abbey's origins date to the 9th century, when Archbishop Fulk initiated construction on a former cemetery site. The museum's rooms partly correspond to the 18th-century abbot's palace, which was rebuilt in the 19th century. The complex covers approximately 5,500 square meters in its expanded configuration.

The 2018-2025 renovation and expansion project, budgeted at 45.3 million euros, aims to restore, reorganize, and significantly enlarge the museum facilities to accommodate approximately 20,000 works of art.

The Museum of Fine Arts of Reims is located on Rue Chanzy in central Reims, in the Champagne-Ardenne region of northeastern France. It is owned by the municipality of Reims. The museum attracted 36,130 visitors in 2018, its last full year of operation before closure. It has been closed to the public since 22 September 2019 due to the ongoing renovation project. During the closure, the museum has maintained activities through off-site programming, loans, and deposits of works in France and abroad. Reopening is anticipated in 2025.