National Museum of Fine Arts of Algiers

The National Museum of Fine Arts of Algiers ((in French) Musée National des beaux-arts d'Alger) is a museum located in Algiers, Algeria. On 14 May 1962 over 300 works of art were brought to the Louvre in Paris from the Museum.

Not to be confused with Museum of Modern Art of Algiers.
The National Museum of Fine Arts of Algiers
Facade of imposing building of The National Museum of Fine Arts of Algiers.
EstablishedMay 5, 1930 (May 5, 1930)
LocationAlgiers
ArchitectPaul Guion
Websitewww.musee-beauxarts.dz

National Museum of Fine Arts of Algiers and Algerian Independence

The Museum of Fine Arts came under threat as independence approached. As part of their campaign of destabilization, on 26 November 1961 Organisation Armée Secrète (OAS) commandos bombed a statue by Antoine Bourdelle[1] in the courtyard of the museum causing damage to the museum's first floor as well as the statue. Additionally there was a fear among French cultural authorities that strict Islamists would take offense to nudes kept in the museum and/or that post-independence rioting and looting would affect the museum. French authorities saw the immediate danger posed by the OAS and apparent danger of anarchy (the museum experienced a peaceful transition) as a reason to move the works of art in secret, under military escort first to Marseille and finally to the Louvre in Paris. The works were valued at the time to be worth, in today's dollars $50 million. However, despite close ties with the museum, no cultural representatives of the FLN, or indeed workers at the museum were informed of the transfer when it occurred and only discovered the missing pieces when they found empty frames. When the missing works were discovered the Fine Arts Museums director, Jean de Maisonseul informed the French.[1] This shipment included works by such artists as Monet, Delacroix and Courbet. The negotiations over returning the art, and whether it should indeed be returned to Algeria were a contentious issue in France and a cause of outrage in Algeria. Under the Evian accords of March 1962[2] it was agreed that all institutions and infrastructure which had under colonial administration been financed by the autonomous colonial administration in Algeria would remain under the control of the Algerian State. The argument of the Algerian negotiators for this technicality was that these institutions, museums included had been financed from the resources produced by the Algerian land and its people. Both the head of the Louvre and of the curator of the Museum of Fine Arts (who remained the same as under French administration) worked to bring the works back under Algerian control. The Director of France's museums Henri Seyrig argued that returning the work, in accord with the Evian Agreements would continue to remind Algerians of their ties to France and would follow a foreign policy brief stating an intention to "foster the most extensive audience for our culture" as an extension of politics by other means. while the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Michel Debré saw it as France's cultural property, and a part of its territory that must be returned. Negotiations began in May 1967 and by 1970, over the protests of the Minister Michel Debré, the works were repatriated to Algeria. Cooperation between museum officials was one of the few examples of goodwill negotiating on both sides.[3]

Collections

Paintings

The paintings department has European paintings of 14th- to mid-20th-century paintings. They are arranged chronologically and by major schools in 35 rooms. The collection features :

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See also

References
  1. Bellisari, Andrew. 2016. The art of decolonization: The battle for Algeria’s french art, 1962–70. Journal of Contemporary History (January 1).
  2. Texts of declarations drawn up in common agreement at evian, 18 March 1962, by the delegations of the government of the french republic and the Algerian national liberation front 1962. . [S.l.]: [s.n.].
  3. Choi, Sung-eun. "From Colonial Citizen to Postcolonial Repatriate: The Politics of National Belonging and the Integration of the French from Algeria After Decolonization." Order No. 3304713, University of California, Los Angeles, 2007.(Retrieved March 21, 2017)

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