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| Established | 1852 |
|---|---|
| Location | Ajaccio,Corsica |
| Type | Art museum |
| Founder | Joseph Fesch |
Themusée Fesch (officially,Palais Fesch-musée des beaux-arts) is the centralmuseum offine arts inAjaccio onCorsica. Located within the gated Palais Fesch,[1] it is in the town's Borgu d'Ajaccio quarter. It was established byNapoleon I's uncle, cardinalJoseph Fesch (a Prince of France from 1807), in Fesch's birthplace.
The Fesch museum is located inAjaccio, the birthplace of its founder, the cardinalJoseph Fesch.[2] It is housed in the 19th-century Palais Fesch on Rue Cardinal Fesch.[3] The Palais Fesch also houses a college of that name, which contains a large collection of pictures, though most of them are copies. There is also a library of 30,000 volumes, and a collection of Corsican minerals. The courtyard contains a bronze statue of Cardinal Fesch. In the right wing of the palace is the Chapelle Fesch, built in 1855, containing the tombs ofLetizia Ramolino, mother of Napoleon, and of Cardinal Fesch.[4] The Bibliothèque Municipale, an adjacent building, contains rare antique books.[5] It was completed in 1837.
The initiative to build the museum was taken by Napoleon I's maternal uncle, cardinal Joseph Fesch (1763-1839), archbishop ofLyons and the primate of theGauls. It was Fesch's wish to establish an Institute of Arts and Sciences in his hometown. Before he died in 1839, Fesch donated 1000 art works including 843 paintings, from his large collection of more than 17,000, to the museum.[citation needed]
The museum was first designed in 1806 but construction started only in 1827 with the efforts of Mgr Péraldi, the cardinal's friend and agent. In 1829, the construction was interrupted by the then government ofBourbons as it was considered a slight to the government because its opulent design and display and was done by Péraldi who had been exiled toRome following the fall of the empire. The construction was resumed in 1833 and completed in 1852, theCorsican architect Frassato directed this stage of construction. However, Fesch did not live to see the completed museum as he died in Rome in 1839.[6]
The most impressive painting collections at the museum are arranged in several halls in the specific periods of the Early Italian and Renaissance, the Roman Baroque and the Neapolitan Baroque.[2] The museum contains one of France's finest collections of Italian old masters, includingBotticelli,Giovanni Bellini,Cosmè Tura, one of the most important Napoleonic collection of paintings and memorabilia[3] and a Corsican Collection of paintings. The four-storey building which displays more than 400 works of the collection in 27 rooms features the Napoleonic Collection in the basement. Niveau 1 contains 16th and 17th century Italian paintings such as Botticelli'sVirgin and Child,Titian'sMan with a Glove, andPaolo Veronese'sLeda and the Swan. Niveau 2 features 17th- and 18th-century paintings, includingPoussin'sMidas à la source du fleuve Pactole andRecco'sRay on a Cauldron with Fish in a Basket while the Grand Gallery, also on this floor, hosts large canvases, such asGregorio de Ferrari'sHoly Family.[5]
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41°55′18″N8°44′18″E / 41.92167°N 8.73833°E /41.92167; 8.73833
