Musée d'Art et d'Archéologie

  The Senlis Museum of Art and Archeology opened in 2012 after major renovation works .It settled in the old bishop‘s palace at the heart of the historical city center, close to the cathedral. The edifice was built up against the Gallo-Roman high wall dating from the Late Empire and has been classified Historical Monument since 1864.

The collections have been gathered from the second half of the nineteenth century. They are due to the 1952 association of the archeological collections of the Archeological Senlis Comity and the ones of the city museum, mainly composed of transmissions from the State and gifts from individual collectors. First established at the Haubergier hotel, the museum then moved to the Bishop’s Palace which was officially inaugurated in 1989.

A part of the basement appears as an archeological site where visitors will discover the ruins of a gallo-roman house built against the foundations of the wall.The other part, a vaulted cave, countains spectacular set of exhumed Gallo-Romans ex-voto during the temple excavations in the Halatte forest, a few miles from Senlis. The archeological collections spread out on the first floor. The impressive fan vaulted room dating from the 16th century includes uncommon Gothic sculptures and the stone coming from the cathedral.
A varied collection of masterpieces from the XXIIth to the XIXth centuries, with two major sections, Thomas Couture and Séraphine Louis (known as Séraphine of Senlis), is exhibited uon the second floor.The chapel of the Keeper of the Seals Guérin is dedicated to Thomas Couture (1815-1879)‘s paintings. The artist, native of Senlis, established his studio in this place when he came back to the city in 1859.
In the great room, old paintings (from Champaigne
and Giordano), most of them coming from the Senlis cathedral stand alongside great naturalist paintings (from Sérusier) and collected works of the Salon (from Pelez). The collection is achieved by landscapes (from Corot and Boudin), sculptures and various pieces of arts.
The next two rooms are dedicated to the paintings
of Séraphine Louis and modern Naives.
Finally, the Renaissance Gallery and the Angels’
Chamber pay tribute to the bishops who lived in these places.