Photo: Paul Hermans · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Musée Rolin

Museum in Autun, housed in the former Hôtel Rolin and closed for works: its Gallo-Roman, medieval and European art collections await a reopening planned around 2030.

Temporarily closed

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Musée RolinTemporarily closed

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Temporarily closed (expected until 2030). The museum is closed to the public for extensive works linked to the Panoptique d’Autun project. A selection of works from the Rolin Museum is shown at the Natural History Museum in Autun for the duration of the works.

About the museum

The museum occupies the site of the former mansion of the chancellor Nicolas Rolin and of the Lacomme house, on the Rue des Bancs. The Société éduenne des lettres, sciences et arts saved the building from demolition and acquired it in January 1878. It set up its headquarters, library and museum there in 1880. In 1955 it gave the buildings and collections to the City of Autun.

The museum is recognised as a “Musée de France” and is considered one of the richest museums in Burgundy. Its collections range from antiquity to the 20th century and combine the history of Autun with European art. Highlights include “La Tentation d’Ève”, a 12th-century lintel attributed to Gislebert, and “Nativité”, with the portrait of Cardinal Jean Rolin, painted around 1480 by the Master of Moulins.

The museum has been closed to the public since 2022. The Panoptique d’Autun project, launched in 2018, will bring together the Hôtel Rolin, a 19th-century circular prison, the former Palais de Justice and the Hallencourt hall. The town plans to install the collections there and open the museum in 2030. During the works, a selection of pieces is shown at the Natural History Museum (Muséum d’histoire naturelle) in Autun.