Description
Take a tour of the Baron Gérard Museum of Art and History (MABH), housed within Bayeux’s former episcopal palace, built between the 11th and 16th centuries.
Awarded the ‘Museum of France’ label, it proposes a journey through European history amidst a backdrop of the town’s own evolution, from prehistory to the modern age.
In a dialogue between the palace and its collections, the museum presents some 800 archaeological and ethnographical exhibits, 600 works of art - including 250 paintings and prints, and over 1,000 porcelain and lace pieces, which offered Bayeux international renown.
The 14 phases of the museographical trail, which abides by a chronological order, cover a surface area of 1,500m2. The first five, on the ground floor, evoke the period from prehistory to the Renaissance, and the nine others, on the upper floor, cover collections from the 17th to the 20th century.
Archaeology, prehistory: exhibits evoking daily life in the region from the Palaeolithic to the Iron Age: tools, weapons, items of clothing/accessories, etc.
Archaeology, Gallo-Roman period: vestiges and objects fired in Augustodurum (ancient Bayeux) offer an insight into the city’s organisation, its architectural decor, daily life, trades, trading, funerary rites, beliefs, etc.
Archaeology, Middle Ages: objects discovered in sepulchres in necropolises located in Bayeux in the Early Middle Ages, 12th- to 14th-century sculptures and objets d’art from various religious edifices, Flamboyant Gothic creations contemporary to the Hundred Years' War.
Paintings: works from French and foreign schools, from the 15th to the 20th century. Ludic trails for young children on a choice of themes (animals, seasons, children, countryside, water, costumes, travel, etc.). Themed trails for older children: presentation of different styles (religious, mythological, historic, portraits, genre painting, still life, landscape, etc.), different artistic movements (from Renaissance to 19th-century).
Bayeux porcelain: story of the town’s porcelain manufacturing from 1812 to 1951, a fine illustration of France’s integration within the industrial era: manufacturing techniques, presentation of a variety of products: decorative pieces, tableware, porcelain crockery, pieces for laboratories and chemistry, etc.
Bayeux lace: the origins of lace and the evolution of lacemaking in Bayeux since the 17th century, bobbin lace and needle lace, lace in costumes over the centuries.
- Tours with commentary by prior booking
- 1 to 2 hours
- Contents adapted to suit each primary and secondary teaching level
- Service available Monday to Friday, all year
- After a presentation on the chosen theme, observation exercises and individual questionnaires spur further and more personal study.
- A meeting with the teacher is recommended prior to any visit.
Prices
Mean(s) of payments :
Postal or bank cheques,
Carte bleue,
Eurocard - Mastercard,
Visa,
Holiday vouchers,
Debit cards
Services
Languages spoken :
Accompanying people with disabilities :
yes
Educational tours :
Historic and cultural heritage
Tours and Activities :
Museums
Bus Park :
yes
Opening
Labels & order
Labels :
Normandie Qualité Tourisme
