Musée Henri Boëz

About the museum

The museum was founded in 1878 by Édouard Bertrand, a notary’s clerk, thanks to numerous donations. It was successively housed in the town hall, in a building bequeathed by Sidonie Fercot-Delmotte, and from 1913 in the Sthrau hall, a former Jesuit church. On the night of September 3–4, 1914, bombing destroyed the hall and almost all of the collections.

After the war, the collection was rebuilt by Henri Boëz, who founded the Société des Amis de Maubeuge in 1926. The museum was re-installed in 1936 in the renovated Sthrau hall and, after 1939, moved to the former Chapter of the Canonesses on the Place Verte, where it remained until 1993. It has borne Henri Boëz’s name since 1972 and received the “Musée de France” label in 2002.

Closed since 1993, the museum is preparing its revival. In the meantime, the Espace Boëz – le musée esquissé (roughly “the sketched museum”), located under the archway of the former Collège Coutelle, hosts exhibitions and presents around a hundred works from the municipal collections, most of which have been restored since 2023. The collections include painting, sculpture, ceramics and archaeology: Gallo-Roman and Merovingian objects, faience from Ferrière-la-Petite, French and Flemish paintings from the 17th to the 19th centuries, and a large plaster cast by Gustave Doré, “La Gloire étouffant le Génie”.

Highlights

• Espace Boëz: around a hundred restored works from the municipal collections
• “La Gloire étouffant le Génie”, a large plaster cast by Gustave Doré
• Pietà attributed to the Master of the Prodigal Son
• Gallo-Roman and Merovingian objects from local excavations
• Faience from Ferrière-la-Petite

Permanent exhibition

• Espace Boëz – le musée esquissé – Preliminary space for the future museum: around a hundred works from the municipal collections, many of them recently restored.

Founded

1878

Operated by

Ville de Maubeuge

Visitors per year

approx. 2,367

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Free admission to the Espace Boëz.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The Espace Boëz is located under the archway of the former Collège Coutelle. By train, Maubeuge is 1 hour 15 minutes from Lille and 2 hours 30 minutes from Paris.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.