Musee des Beaux Arts de Lyon

Mercredi 15 decembre

We visited the Lyon Fine Art Mueum at 20 place desTerreaux on a very cold wednesday, the perfect day to spend indoors! The collection, housed in a graand building - the former Benedictine abbey - the Saint-Pierre Palace, is proparted to be second in France only to the Louvre.

the courtyard, or cloisters ....

 The entrance gate and doorway ....

The first work of art is The Ascension of Christ, 1496 -1498 by Perugin ( Petro Vannucci)

 We then walked down to the vast chapel housing the 19th -20th century sculpture collection, so beautifully displayed ....

 This was a highlight for me was Antoine Etex's white marble Cain and his tribe condemed by God, 1832 -1839

 Another was Joseph-Hugues Fabisch's beautiful white marble Beatrix from the early 1800's

 And of course you could not walk past the amazing Persee et la Gorgone by Laurent Marqueste.

Auguste Rodin's bronze bust of French author Victor Hugo 1802 -1855, and marble Minerve casquee, 1905....

The lifelike 1894 marble sculpture Chien danois (Great Dane) in marble by Georges Gardet, (Paris, 1863-1939)

Below is a small version of the Statue of Liberty, designed by french sculptor, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (1834 – 1904) .

The magnificent Bartholdi fountain in Place des Terraux, which can be seen from trhe front of this Fine Art museum, was sculpted by him. See below, the photo I took on 18 December when the water was frozen .....

Back to the museum ....

 The superb Hector Guimard, art deco bedroom furniture, including a waterfall-like chandelierfrom the Hotel Guimard, Paris, 1909-1912

 A stunning 18th century French wooden door - Porte , carved by Noyer

Early 17th century enamel plates from Limoges, France.

Notable amongst the modern art works are those by Pablo Picasso .....

        le Buffet du catalan, 1943

and the haunting ......Tete de mouton ecorchee, 1939

.... another Picasso -  Vanite, 1946

.. .and Alexei von Kawelski's  striking Woman's head "Medusa" Light and Dark, 1922

.... the captivating Tete d'enfant, 1908, by Henri Le Fauconnie

Henri Matisse's, Jeune femme en blanc, fond rouge (Model Lying down, white dress), 1946

Georges Roualt, Le Sainte face (The Saint's Face), 1926-29

 Jean Miro's Figure, 1954

 The superb staircase with painted walls, the sacred forest..

 the view down into the courtyard ....

 Some of the paintings in the ancient paintings collection, pre 19th century ...

.... Claude Guinet's Saint Catherine, 1507

 and Joos van Cleve's famous portrait d'homme, 1520 below left and Bartholaomus Bruyn's Portrait d'homme, 1500's below right.

 Quentin Metsys' superb triptych .... La Vierge et l'Enfant, Virgin with child, 1509

Albrecht Bouts's Le Christ couronne d'epines, 1885

Filipo Lippi's Sainte Catherine , below left. 

Espagne, 16th Century, La Dormition dela Vierge

 Below is Dutch painter Rembrandt's La Lapidation de saint Etiennne, 1625

and Ruben's Adoration of the Magi, 1617

Spanish Antonio de Pereda's L'Immaculate conception, 1634.

One of my favourites was this captivating Venetian scene by Bernado Berlotto, The Grand Canal, Venice, 1736 - 1740

 some close-ups.....

 Three wonderful works by Fleury Rrichard, below right Scene in a destroyed chapel...

 The Crucifixion by Simon Vouet, 1635-1637

 The Good and the Bad by Victor Orsel 1832

Some of the thousands of Antiquities from Egypt......

 Bronze bracelet with animal heads (a tetes d'animaux), Louristan, 9-8th Century BC

from Syria,  Tete de pretre, 3rd century BC

From 3rd century BC, Roman Syria, a sarcphagus en plomb ....

Amphores, flagons and ... ? ( Tasse and petitie cruche)

Superb glassware from Roman Syria....

 An amphore a tableau, 4th Century BC, impressively decorated with Apollo and Hermes.

.....  and then my camera died - no more photos today!!