musee des beaux-arts de rouen

Monday 7th July 2014. Truly a wonderful exhibition of classical, renaissance and impressionist art interspersed with large fine sculptural wonders. Whatever you do in Rouen be sure to visit the Musee des Beaux-Arts. Having spent two hours in the equivalent museum in Lyon in 2013 this experience makes me realise that one should search out provincial museums for their works of art which turn out to be absolute gems. We were there for the Cathedrales exhibition which was a carefully curated study bringing together paintings and religious artefacts including Constable's - Salisbury Cathedral. Do endeavour to time your visit such that after at least two hours strolling you might lunch in the courtyard, which is light, airy and covered by a glass roof so impervious to rain. Enjoy perhaps a quiche with salad and a glass of white wine seated amongst huge canvases of 19 century groups seemingly almost life-sized and beautiful white sculptures. Then maybe go back for more gallery browsing! Well worth every moment; an art lovers dream of a day at leisure!

Wonderful. To see such fabulous art displayed in bright natural light just blew me away. I just hadn't realsised how dingy our art galleries are until I saw this. I want everyone to experience this. So go its absolutely breath taking.

As I strolled from room to room the paintings seemed to be getting better and better. Then I entered the court yard, looked right, and saw local boy - Joseph-Desire Court's 1865 Salon entry, "The Martyrdom of Saint Agnes in the Roman Forum." I nearly fell over. What a work! How long did it take to paint this? Such detail. About a dozen paintings in one. Amazing.What I loved most about Rouen's Gallery - was that it contained dozens of French painters paintings. One comes to France to see mainly French painting - not Italian or Spanish or Dutch - but a few of their best is okay! But when it comes to painting, (In my opinion) French is number one.There were Vigee Le Brun, Hubert Robert, Cailebotte and Pissarro's lovely, "Pont Boieldieu in Rouen, - Foggy Sunset."Being Rouen - the were 3 paintings of Joan of Arc, and, of course, at least one of Monet's, "Impression of the Rouen Cathedral." Personally I would rather he painted the Cathedral 'properly' - it takes much more skill to do a 'proper' painting than just a vague impression of it. But that's what I think - millions don't.Anyhow, the coffee and cake in the centre square was nice tooBrian, from Perth. W.Australia.

Very nice museum representing a wide range of artistic styles and time periods. If you have a particular style of art you're interested in, though, make sure you follow the map carefully so you get to see what you want to see. We started at the wrong end of the museum, so by the time we got to the Impressionist exhibit, we were too tired to enjoy it properly.

We only had an hour for this before our train left, and I wish we'd had more time. There are quite a number of good pieces here (not limited to the room full of Sisleys of the title), including some Roman work and Medieval art.

This museum has a very nice collection of art. It is the second largest collection of impressionist paintings in the world, second to the Louvre. There are a handful of paintings by Monet and a few by Renoir. Photography is allowed, but no flash. I think we spent about 2 hours here. I would not hesitate to make another visit. If you like art, a stop here is well worth your time.

Very good collection, not crowded like most well known galleries. Although there was not a large amount of contemporary art, there was an even amount from all periods. Reasonable entrance fee for a very nice little gallery.

A wonderful collection of art, well displayed to give an overview of each artist/genre without becoming overpowering. The still life of mushrooms and insects is a must see!

Wonderful small, uncrowded museum with several very good Monets, including the cathedral façade, and a nice impressionist section. Should not be missed.

Spent an afternoon here. Well worth the visit. A wide variety of art spanning the centuries. The Impressionist art is excellent featuring such artists as Sisley, Monet and Manet. There is a lovely courtyard café and an excellent bookshop.

We arived on Sundya morning and paid our entrance fee (no consession for senior citizens) and were then informed that due to lack of staff the first floor rooms were closed . We could go back in the afternoon but as we were doing other things we could not do that . When we asked if we could use them the folowing day we were told very abruptly NO. most unfriendly staff .

Lovely museum. We enjoyed the Cathedrals exhibit. The only downside to this was the first floor was closed for half the day when we went. Make sure to check the times before you go!

Really well laid out gallery and easy to move through. We were really impressed that we were able to spend an hour here with our little boy, who was so well behaved. Even though he made several loud noises on occasion we were never made to feel unwelcomed or told to keep quiet. It has some awesome works, Monet was great to see. Outside the gallery is a great play gym in the park for little ones, who deserve a run around after having to endure being told to keep quiet every 5 minutes.

What a great collection. What a great museum. When we visited, in also had an exhibition on - a look at cathedrals through the ages. I believe it's there until the end of September - it's definitely worth a visit.

I stopped here only because I was visiting Rouen for the Cathedral, and had some time to burn. But this turned out to be the real high-light of my day. Caravaggio's "Christ at the Column" & Velasquez's "Democritus" are absolute must-see's - and the whole collection is of way higher quality than you would expect in a provincial museum.