Installed in the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Vaast since 1825, the museum has major works from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Mainly made up of the revolutionary seizures of 1795, this collection is accessible free of charge all year round and offers an original discovery device: sound bubbles inviting the senses to contemplate 7 of its masterpieces.
The museum is housed in a 7th century abbey, the true cradle of this Pas-de-Calais town, whose cloister and main courtyard can still be admired. It covers 6,000 m2 and contains works by major artists such as Brueghel, Rubens, Corot and Delacroix.
Its collection covers the different schools of painting (Flemish, Italian, French) and the historical site offers a real showcase to these paintings but also to sculptures, ceramics or tapestries of great value.
An inspiring environment open, each year and for several months, to an artist in residence, a privileged visitor among the 80,000 that the museum welcomes on average annually.
Facilitating the first step towards art: this is the mission of Musair, an innovative digital project that takes the form of sound bites combining voice, music and artworks in cultural venues. An alternative to the classic descriptive audio guide, this content is accessible via a simple QR code and a smartphone and invites visitors to immerse themselves in a work of art told in a completely new way.
For example: the painting "Death of Cato" by Charles Lebrun is told as a forensic report or the "Saint Francis receiving the stigmata" by Paul Rubens is approached from the angle of the metamorphosis of a superhero. Without needing to master the religious, mythological or historical references of these paintings, the viewer can thus immerse himself in their contemplation by allowing himself to be embarked on a narrative that plays on his senses, his reflection or his emotions.
It should be noted that, even if the experience is ideally to be lived in situ, these moments of contemplation particularly welcome in our (too) agitated contemporary lives are also accessible at a distance. For the moment, the Arras Museum of Fine Arts offers 7 sound journeys of this new kind.
Free and about 4 minutes each, they can be listened to at one's own pace and make you want to go to the museum, even outside Arras, to prolong the contemplation of works of art.
To learn more about this beautiful initiative go here or discover the episode that France Culture dedicates to it as part of its podcast program "Museums in movement".
Valérie from Comme des Français
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