In Quimper, works from the Museum of Fine Arts are displayed in the windows of shops in the city center

The Quimper Museum of Fine Arts is currently undergoing energy renovation but it would have been a shame to deprive visitors of its magnificent collections. The establishment has a magnificent collection of exceptional paintings, classics, Breton ones but also from the Pont-Aven school, Gauguin, Boudin and even Sérusier.

To allow Quimper residents and visitors to discover these paintings outside the walls during the work, the municipality and the Museum of Fine Arts had the idea of ​​calling on merchants in the city center, near the museum, so that they could display reproductions of paintings in their windows, as has already been done in other cities, such as Nogent-sur-Seine (Aube).

In Quimper, twenty-five merchants agreed to play the game: bars, clothing stores, craftsmen, real estate agencies, jewelers, a Corsican grocery store, an optician. Each trader had the choice among around thirty reproductions.

Laurent Pozzo Di Borgo at the head of the “Aux Saveurs Corses” boutique was won over by this idea. “We needed a painting related to the store. Among the thirty paintings proposed, one stood out straight away. It was a still life dating from the 17th century, a reproduction of a painting by Gilles Jacobsz Van Hulsdonck entitled Still life with lemon and walnuts. If we look closely, we have Corsican clementine and citron, walnuts and white wine. This represented Corsican products well. »

“I educated myself and discovered a store! »

Passers-by look at the paintings and also enter the shops because, in parallel with the exhibition, a game has been launched. “We invite people to wander the streets and answer riddles linked to the canvas on display and the business. Then, once the ballot has been submitted to the town hall, a draw will be carried out among the correct answers with prizes to be won. »

Obviously the passers-by are getting in on the fun, delighted to discover not only the works but also the shops. “I have lived a few kilometers from Quimper for years but I admit that I was completely unaware that there were Corsican products on rue René Madec. Not only did I learn from the paintings but I was also able to buy Corsican products,” rejoices Quentin.

All the traders who played the game were photographed alongside the work. These photos will be exhibited on large panels around the museum. There are still a few days left to discover the paintings and wander the historic streets of downtown Quimper.