The prestigious Parisian collection of the couturier and art collector Jacques Doucet, in the Hôtel de Massilian at the center of the city.

This charming museum opened in 1996. It is a private foundation created by an artist-couple, Jean and Paulette Angladon-Dubrujeaud. Having studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts d’Avignon, they pursued their activities as painters and print makers in this city, and donated their family inheritance and home to the public. This inheritance came from the Parisian couturier Jacques Doucet (1853-1929), the well known collector and supporter of the arts.

The Hôtel de Massilian, named after the family that occupied it in the eighteenth century, maintains its beautiful staircase and discrete elements of its original decoration in the second floor rooms. Major work was initially done under the architect Jean-Péru in 1694. The recent restoration has sought to maintain the warmth of the living space while at the same time giving the most significant works a modern and sober presentation.

Collection of chefs-d’œuvre

The only piece in the south of France to present a work of Van Gogh from Arles Period, Wagons de chemin de fer, this museum offers the visitor a journey through he history of painting from the end of the nineteenth century until the beginning of the twentieth century : the Barbizon School (Diaz’s Paysage) Impressionism (Sisley’s Neige à Louveciennes), Pointillism (an impressive Vuillard portrait), important works by Daumier (Sancho Panza), Degas (Danseuses, repasseuse), Carrière (Enfant au bonnet) and Cézanne (Nature morte au pot de grès).

The nineteen twenties are represented by Modigliani’s La Blouse rose, two portraits on gold leaf by Fujita, tableaux by Derain and Forain, and several works of Picasso, including Arlequin and Fenêtre ouverte sur la mer. Three African masks bear witness to the influence of aboriginal arts at the time. A documentation center reveals the harmonious and surprising life of Jacques Doucet, who strove to assemble a collection of the works of his time before his death.

His purchases, including Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, and tableaux by Douanier Rousseau, Matisse, Picabia and others are now on view in large museums in France and internationally. In addition to primary works are frames by great Art Deco masters, such as Pierre Legrain.

An amateur d’art interior

On the second floor the salons and furniture have been restored « dans l’esprit d’une maison d’amateurs d’art », according to the wishes of Jean and Paulette Angladon-Dubrujeaud. Next to an atelier where their own works can be seen, the Medieval room and the Renaissance room present works that the two acquired. A Gothic Virgin and a Saint John the Baptist sculpture from the fifteenth century, and impressive sixteenth-century portraits can be seen.

Among the furnishings, note the double buffet attributed to Sambin. The salons present paintings by Hubert Robert, Joseph Vernet, Sir Thomas Lawrence, a still life by Chardin, and a number of excellent portraits. Pieces of furniture (stamped Jacob, Tillard ou Lelarge), objects, miniatures, porcelains, clocks, etc…, reconstitute the refined ambiance of the eighteenth century, also recalling Jacques Doucet’s first collection (sold in 1912, but some reminiscences of which he sought to keep).

There are some rare pieces in the Salon d’Extrême-Orient, such as a superb terracotta Danseuse, and a Tang era Buddhist prayer wheel. Works in the Cabinet of Drawings, by Boucher, Lancret, Meissonnier, Liotard, Greuze and others, are available for scrutiny upon researcher’s request.

The Angladon-Dubrujeaud museum