The story of a legacy
In 1942, doctor of pharmacy Jean Faure, co-creator of the Bonjean elixir, bequeathed his fortune and his exceptional collection of works of art to the city of Aix-les-Bains. This then acquired the Villa des Chimères, a beautiful Genoese-style residence built in 1902, to create a museum and exhibit the collections of Doctor Faure. The museum opened its doors to the public in 1949. It exhibits the exceptional collection of impressionist works that Faure has built up through his Parisian connections and in particular through frequentation with the art dealer André Shoeller, during the period between. two wars. Today, the Faure Museum is famous for housing the second French collection of works by Rodin. You can also admire the paintings and sculptures of other great names in Impressionism and pre-Impressionism such as Jules Desbois, Cézanne, Degas, or even Pissarro. In 1980, the museum underwent a major redevelopment to showcase the works in a more intimate way and closer to Faure's intuitive collector's approach. Other permanent or temporary exhibitions complete the impressionist collection bequeathed by Faure, in particular ceramics from the city's first museum, a collection of eclectic art, and a museography tribute to Lamartine who stayed in Aix-les-Bains from 1816 to 1830.
Visit the Faure museum
A visit to the Faure museum is a highlight during a stay in Aix-les-Bains. Among the key pieces, we can admire the remarkable marble sculpture of the Neapolitan Laughter by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux. There followed more than 30 sculptures by Rodin which form the second largest collection in France of the artist's works, then an incredible collection of impressionist paintings to be discovered through a route that goes from precursors and masters of the current to its most modern representatives: Degas, Renoir, Pissarro, Marquet, Boudin, Sisley, among other big names. The museum also exhibits a collection of memories of stays in the city of the poet Lamartine. The room he occupied at the Perrier pension (now replaced by the thermal baths building) is faithfully reconstructed with its period furniture, in the Savoyard Empire style. The collection of the ceramic exhibition consists of glass, earthenware and porcelain, including some rare typically regional pieces. Porcelains from the royal manufactory in Berlin and earthenware from Delft stand alongside pieces from the Savoy region from the La Forest earthenware factory, a few steps from Aix-les-Bains. Finally, to discover at the Faure Museum, an eclectic art collection made up of works from the 19th and 20th centuries, by Carpeaux, Hayez, Boucher, and Foujita. Several temporary exhibitions are also organized each year.
Useful information
The free visit of the Faure museum is priced at 5 euros full price and 3 euros reduced price. It is free for children under 18, students up to 25 and people with disabilities. Guided tours are also available. A welcome booklet for young people is available at the entrance, to offer a fun visit to children and introduce them to art in a fascinating way. The museum is open all year round, every day except Tuesday, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the mornings and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the afternoons. Opening days can be reduced to just 4 during the coronavirus health crisis (Wednesday to Saturday). In addition, the visitor gauge is restricted to 60 people simultaneously on the site until the crisis is over. The Villa des Chimères which houses the Faure museum is located at 10, boulevard des Côtes in Aix-les-Bains.
Museefaure / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)
