Musée de l'Abbaye Sainte-Croix (MASC)
Modern and contemporary art museum in Les Sables-d'Olonne, housed in a 17th-century abbey; currently closed for works.
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About the museum
The museum was founded in 1963 by Pierre Chaigneau, its first curator, and presents itself as a pioneer in France for modern and contemporary art. It occupies the Abbaye Sainte-Croix, a former convent of Benedictine nuns from Poitiers. The oldest part dates back to a priory founded in 1622 by Flandrine de Nassau, in a plain style. The site returned to the town in 1792 and changed use several times before becoming a museum.
The white galleries cover about 2,500 m². On the fourth floor, a roof frame shaped like an upturned boat hull marks the oldest room in the building. The abbey is a listed historic monument, and the museum holds the “Musée de France” label.
The collections fall into three groups: the work of Gaston Chaissac, a collection of modern art and a collection of contemporary art, with particular attention to Victor Brauner. Over more than fifty years, the museum has organized more than 300 exhibitions and published more than 135 catalogues, the “Cahiers de l'Abbaye Sainte-Croix”. It has shown artists such as Antonin Artaud, Georg Baselitz, Robert Combas, Philip Guston, Peter Saul or Carlo Zinelli.
The official website states that the museum is currently closed for works; it gives no reopening date.
Highlights
- Gaston Chaissac collection
- Works by Victor Brauner
- Collections of modern and contemporary art
- 17th-century abbey with boat-hull roof frame
- More than 300 exhibitions since 1963
- Founded
- 1963
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