A painting from the Louvre to discover in La Fère

Of the five works that the Louvre Museum had placed on deposit at the Jeanne d'Aboville Museum, only one remains identified as such. Not that the museum got rid of the other four but simply the museum law of 2002 passed by. “This law specified that paintings on deposit before 1910 became the property of the museum hosting them. » At that time, the Jeanne d'Aboville museum therefore included three paintings in its collections. “For example, we have a portrait of a man that we are not exhibiting because of his condition”specifies Mariel Hennequin, director of the museum. On the other hand, visitors can discover a pastoral by Antoine Dubost dating from the 19th century. “It represents The Idyll of Amyntas, continues the director. It belonged to the private collection of Napoleon 1^isseized during his abdication. It was placed in storage at the museum in 1872, when it opened. »

Two paintings on deposit at La Fère are still property of the Louvre. The Nurse, a sketch by Henri Poterlet, “it emanates from the legacy that Doctor La Caze, a great art collector, made to the Louvre. As such, it cannot be transferred”. This painting has long been presented to the public, it is now kept in reserves. “We take it out once a year, during the visit on women, this sketch presents the choice of a nanny. »

As for the other work, The Punished Miser, it appears neither on the walls nor in storage for the simple reason that it disappeared during the First World War. “The museum had been evacuated as a precaution, not all the boxes returned at the end of the war. »