Orléans Museum of Fine Arts Guided Tour

Guided tour of the Orléans Museum of Fine Arts, one of France most famous collection ouside of Paris. A private tour lead by a certified French national guide in an human-sized museum, where you won’t lose yourself in never-ending rooms and corridors and you will be able to concentrate on the essential: art and masterpieces, 

"Bacchus découvrant Ariane à Naxos" an Oil on canvas by the brothers Le Nain to illustrate a guided tour of the Orléans Museum of Fine Arts, Loire Valley, France.

Ariadne in Naxos, Le Nain brothers © Orléans Museum of Fine Arts, credit François Lauginie.

Orléans Museum of Fine Arts Private Guided Tour in a nutshell

+/- 1.5-hour tour: 49 € for 1 to 2 people + 6 € per extra person
+/- 2.5-hour tour: 79 € for 1 to 2 people + 9 € per extra person

  • English guided tour available in 2 durations
  • Really private tour = your party only (6 people max.)
  • Postgraduate (MPhil) certified French national guide
  • Flexible time schedule 7/6 if available
  • Not on Monday (museum closed)
  • Online booking & payment

Tickets not included (6 € per person except for authorized exemptions).

KNOW MORE / BOOK NOW

The Main Artists of the Orléans Museum

Italy: Correggio, Annibale Carracci, Guido Reni, Orazio Samacchini, Luca Giordano, Mattia Preti, Antonio de Bellis, Pompeo Batoni etc.

France: Le Nain Brothers, Vignon, Blanchard, Coypel, De la Hyre, Bourdon, Boucher, Fragonard, Jean II Restout, Vigée Le Brun, Robert, Pierre, Vien, Greuze, Nattier, Natoire, Van Loo, Rigaud, Largillière, De Troy, Drouais, Lubin Baugin, Cogniet, Guérin, Michalon, Delacroix, Courbet, Corot, Boudin, Gauguin, Rodin etc. 

Flemish and Dutch: Jan I & II Brueghel, Van Balen, Ruysdael, Momper, Seghers, Flemal, Willeboirts, van Hulsdonck, Van Vliet etc.

The Two Jewels of the Orléans Museum of Fine Arts

One of the only two Vélasquez visible in France.

The 2nd Collection of Pastels in France after the Louvre: A rare gathering of these fragile works of the 18th century from Chardin, Perronneau, Quentin de la Tour, etc. A great opportunity as the Louvre rarely shows its 18th-century pastel collection.

Why to visit the Orléans Museum of Fine Arts?

The Orléans Museum of Fine Arts is famous for the size and the quality of its permanent collections which are shown on 5 floors and a total of 3000 sqm.

For sure, it can’t be compared with the world-famous huge Parisian museums. But in Orléans, you will find a human-sized museum, where you won’t lose yourself in never-ending rooms and corridors.

In the Orléans museum of fine arts, you will be able to concentrate on the essential, masterpieces, and there are a lot:

Italian Renaissance, Mannerism, Caravaggio influenced chiaroscuro, 17th-century Northern Schools, Baroque, Classical “Grand Siècle” French painting, 18th-century precious pastel portraits, Rococo, Neoclassicism, 19th-century Romanticism, Realism, Barbizon School, Pre-Impressionism to 20th contemporary works.

Last and not least, the Orléans Museum of fine arts is ideally situated in the heart of Orleans city center right between the two main monuments of the city: the cathedral and the hôtel Groslot Renaissance mansion.

The entry gate of the Orléans Museum of fine Arts to illustrate the Guided Tour of the Orléans Museum of Fine Arts, Loire Valley, France.

The entry gate of the Orléans Museum of fine Arts. In the background made of bricks and stone, the hôtel Groslot is the most Famous Renaissance building of Orléans. © Credit photo Broaden-horizons.fr

Content of Your Orléans Museum of Fine Arts Guided Tour

The content of your visit to the Orléans Museum of Fine Arts will obviously depend on the duration you will choose for your tour:

Basic Tour (1.5 hour)

The ideal tour for a first short discovery of the Orléans museum.

Extensive Tour (2.5 hours)

For those who want time to go more in-depth to some parts of the museum, like for example the Pastel Cabinet, Joan of Arc, the Château de Richelieu…

New the Painting Art Crash Course (3 hours)

New: we now also propose a 3-hour painting art evolution crash course based to the Orléans museum of fine arts galleries.

Your Private Guide in Orléans

Certified French national guide.
Centre-Loire Valley Region accreditation (VAH).
BA, Magna cum laude, Heritage Developpement & Preservation at Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers.
Postgraduate (MPhil) from Paris Dauphine-PSL University.

Our guide had designed and led a lot of Official Orléans Museum of Fine Arts Tours, then he knows the museum Very well!
So if you want a knowledgeable private fine art guided tour in a non-crowded environment, here is a unique opportunity!!

The Orléans Museum of Fine Arts collection

15th to 17th Century Italian Paintings

Few works from the Italian Renaissance are presented with among them a High Renaissance masterpiece “The Holly Familly” by Corregio, some Mannerism works can also be seen.

An Annibale Carracci masterpiece known as a reference example of Baroque Catholic-Reformation.

David and Goliath chiaroscuro work by Guido Reni. Other version of this masterpiece are in the Louvre in Paris and in the Uffizi in Florence.

The Orléans Museum also shows Caravaggio influenced Neapolitan paintings with Mattia Pretty or a masterpiece from Antonio de Bellis: a magnificent newly restored Saint Sebastian. 

Flemish Renaissance and Baroque Painters

Marinus van Reymerswaele: an important Renaissance Painter inspired by Durer and Metsys. There is another version of his Orléans’ St Jerome in the Prado (Madrid).

A lot of important painters linked with Pieter Paul Rubens. His master Otto Van de Veen or his friend Jan Brueghel, the most talented son of Pieter Brueghel. Both were, as Rubens member of the guild of the Romanist (Painters having traveled to Rome).

Anton van Dyck Rubens’ most talented pupile and Willeboirts Bosschaert with the Antwerp Master.

And a lot more famous Flemish painters: Hendrick van Balen, Gillis Mostaert, Joos de Momper, Gerard Seghers, etc.

Dutch Golden Age Painters

A full room is dedicated to Dutch Golden Age painters with Gérard de Lairesse, Ferdinand Bol, Jacob van Ruisdael, Salomon de Bray, Lambert Doomer, Emmanuel De Witte, Cornelis Bisschop, etc.

"The Entry of the Animals into Noah's Ark" from Jan II Brueghel, to illustrate the Guided Tour of the Orléans Museum of Fine Arts, Loire Valley, France.

The original of the “The Entry of the Animals into Noah’s Ark” is housed in the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Numerous versions of this painting have been done, the one of Orléans is from Jan II Brueghel, soon of  Jan Brueghel I (also called Velvet Bruguel). Digital image courtesy of the Getty’s Open Content Program.

French Paintings From the 17th (Grand siècle)

The Orléans Museum of Fine Arts presents a rich, interesting, and diverse collection.

A rare mythologic painting by famous genre painter Le Nain Brothers, a famous portrait of Louis XIV at 4 years old attributed to Philippe de Champaign.

Paintings of some of the founders of the Royal Academy of painting and sculpture: Laurent de la Hyre, Sébastien Bourdon, etc.

A great format painting by Claude Vignon second most important French baroque painter after Simon Vouet, and a lot of other attaching painters of the period: Lubin Beaugin, Jacques Blanchard, Antoine Coypel, Nicolas Prévost, etc.

Photo of an oil on canvas "L'Allégorie de L'Astronomie" by Laurent de la Hyre to illustrate the Guided Tour of the Orléans Museum of Fine Arts, Loire Valley, France.

Guided tour Orléans. L’Allégorie de l’Astronomie by Laurent de La Hyre © Orléans Museum of Fine Arts, credit François Lauginie.

The Château de Richelieu Paintings collection

The Orléans Museum presents some remains of the decoration of the Richelieu castle that was destroyed in the aftermath of the French Revolution.

The Duke of Richelieu was the main minister of Louis XIII, he died in 1642, so most of the paintings of this collection are from the early 17th century in the late mannerism style.

Among them are four canvases of the Evangelis and four other ones of the Church Fathers by Martin Freminet a famous painter from the Second “School of Fontainebleau” or an allegories of the fours elements by Claude Déruet. Deruet was also a famous painter from the court of Lorraine and later on Louis XIII made him Knight of the Order of St Michel. He had Claude Gellé, ” Le Lorrain” as an apprentice for one year.

Ancient Rome Sculptures of the Château de Richelieu

The duke of Richelieu was owning the most important ancient Rome sculpture collection outside of Italy. Four of them are now in Orléans, they represent the four seasons.

One of France Biggest Master Prints & Drawings Collection

The Orléans museum of fine Arts’s collections included more than 50000 old master prints and drawings. The Orléans collection is one of the biggest in France as the one of Besançon or Lille.

Samples of the collection are shown in two prints rooms. As these prints and drawings are very sensitive to light, the presented works are changing on a three-month basis. What you will see will then depend on the period of your visit.

Orléans museum owns prints or drawings by Andrea Mantegna, Titian, Parmigiano, Giorgio VasariLucas CranachAlbrecht Dürer, Pierre de Cortone, Jacob Jordaens, Georges LallemantNicolas Poussin, Pierre MignardJean Antoine Watteau, Jacques Louis DavidJean Auguste Dominique Ingres, Honoré Daumier etc.

A Famous Vélasquez

This Spanish painting (photo on this page) is the most famous of the museum, there are only two Vélasquez visible in France. The Orléans Masterpiece is considered part of an apostolate (group of paintings representing apostles or apostolada in Spanish) as it is commented in the dedicated page of the Prado Museum.

In 2021 the Orléans Museum of fine arts organized an exhibition dedicated to this apostolate which is documented online.

 

Oil painting on canvas by Velasquez to illustrate  an Orléans Museum of Fine Arts Guided Tour.

Guided tour Orléans. Saint Thomas from Diego Velázquez © Orléans Museum of Fine Arts, no credit available.

French Paintings from the 18th Century

With master pieces from: Boucher, Fragonard, Jean II Restout, Vigée Le Brun, Robert, Pierre, Vien, Greuze, Nattier, Natoire, Van Loo, RigaudLargillière, De Troy, Drouais etc.

The 2nd Collection of Pastels in France after the Louvre

A rare gathering of these fragile works of the 18th century from Chardin, Perronneau, Quentin de la Tour. You will there surprisingly discover that optical color mixing was used before 19th impressionism.

18th Century Italian Paintings

Italian 18th is also shown with among others three magnificent Pompeo Batoni allegory portraits: the summer, the autumn, and the winter. Batoni took his inspiration in the works of artists like Nicolas Poussin, Claude Lorrain, or Raphael and he is then considered a precursor of Neoclassicism.

The 19th Century and Romanticism Collection

This department of the museum is particularly rich thanks to the donation of painter Leon Cogniet studio. Cogniet was an important romantic painter and an important teacher at the academy of arts.

A lot of works of Cogniet, of his friends relatives and pupiles are then now part of the Orléans collection where you will fine Guérin, Michalon, Delacroix, and works from the Barbizon School with Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot etc. 

A Rich 19th Century Joan of Arc Iconography

With works of Princess Marie d’Orléans, Boutet de Monvel, Etty, Scherrer, Scheffer, etc. 

19th Century Sculptures

Moreover, the museum also owns an important collection of statues by Triqueti, Rodin, Bourdelle, Maillol, etc.

End of 19th Century Gallery

This gallery is temporarily closed for renovation.

Works from the end of the century as by Boudin, Courbet, Gauguin , etc. with representative works of Realism, Pre-Impressionism, Symbolism.

Photo of an oil on canvas "Le Massacre des Innocents" by Léon Cogniet to illustrate the Guided Tour of the Orléans Museum of Fine Arts, Loire Valley, France.

Guided Tour Orléans. Study for the “Massacre des Innocents” by Léon Cogniet. © Orléans Museum of Fine Arts, credit François Lauginie.

Know More About the Orléans Museum of Fine Arts

The Museum of Fine Arts was moved to a new building in 1984. Previously, its huge collections (more than 65000 works of arts with the reserves) were crammed in the hôtel des Créneaux, a Renaissance mansion in the city. The collections are presented chronologically across 5 levels:
• The 2nd floor with the 16th and 17th centuries collections 
• A 1st floor dedicated to the 17th and 18th centuries
• Two entresols with 19th century
• The basement dedicated to the 20th century

Discover Orléans Heritage With our City Walking Tours

If you are interested in arts and history, there is also a lot to discover about it in the Orléans old city center which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Listed Loire Valley. Orléans rich cultural heritage is also recognized by being listed as “villes d’art et d’histoire” (cities of art and history).
We propose three Orléans city tours to ease Orléans heritage discovery.

  • Orléans walking tour: gives overview of the city center: Renaissance mansions, half-timbered houses, etc.
  • Orléans Cathedral Tour: show you the multiple aspects of this extraordinary Gothic monument built in the modern era.
  • Joan of Arc Tour: to know about the Maid of Orléans, about the historical aspect as the artistic one!

Two new tours will normaly be available for spring 2022: An Orléans Renaissance Guided Tour prepared in connection with the 500 anniversary of the birth of Catherine de Medicis and the death of Leonardo da Vinci and an Orléans River Loire Banks Tour, a tour full of historical references which is also a pleasant stroll along the Loire River at Orleans. An excellent choice during the good weather seasons!

Tour Booking Information

Meeting Point

In front of the museum ticket counter of the Orleans Museum of Fine Arts.

Access: Tram  line B, station Cathédrale.

Attention Points

  • Tour is on foot.
  • Prices do not include transportation, food, drinks or any other extra services.
  • Tour duration and content are indicative. Visit may vary due to  contingencies.
  • Private tour  means a tour for you & your party only, not that the museum is privatized. 

Book An Orléans Museum of Fine Arts Tour

Choose below your tour You will then be  asked : -> choose number of people, date & hour of visit -> after our validation-> pay on line.

NB : Ticket to the museum (*) are not included. You have to buy them at the museum entrance before the time scheduled for the tour.

Choose below your tour

You will then be  asked : 

  • choose number of people, date & hour of visit
  • after our validation
  • pay on line

NB : Ticket to the museum (*) are not included. You have to buy them at the museum entrance before the time scheduled for the tour.

Portrait of Louis XIV 1701 by Hyacinthe Rigaud (Jacint Rigau) to illustrate The guided of Orléans Museum of Fine Arts.

Louis XIV in 1701 by Hyacinthe Rigaud – Orléans has a very nice studio version of the masterpiece.

(*) TARIFF OF THE ORLÉANS MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS

Free on 1st Sunday of every month. Free for individuals under 18 years old and the Orléans-Tour education authority (school district) students. Full rate : 6 € – Reduced price : 3 €. The ticket is valid the entire day and gives right to entrance to the Orléans Museum of Fine Arts, Hôtel Cabu (Museum of History and Archeology), Maison de Jeanne d’Arc, the Centre Charles Péguy and the MOBE (Orléans Museum for Environment and biodiversity). The entry ticket to the Orléans Museum of Fine Arts is not included in the price of the guided tour. You will have to buy them at the museum entrance before the time scheduled for your Orléans Museum of fine Arts guided tour. 
The pricing policy of the Orléans Museums is given for information only (merely indicative) without warranty (tariff updated February 2022).