Musée d'art et d'histoire Saint-Léger

Museum located in the old Saint-Léger Abbey. To be seen: the rooms of archaeology, local history and paintings. In 1847, the Historical Society of Soissons decided to create a museum. Initially installed in the town hall in 1857, the collections suffered from the 1914-1918 war. In 1933, a new museum was inaugurated in the old Saint-Léger Abbey, where it is still located. From 1950 onwards, the museum could be reorganized. It continues to be enriched by the discoveries of the archaeological excavations of the Aisne valley and by documents of local history. The collections of paintings are strengthened with the help of the F.R.A.M (Fonds Régional d'Acquisition des Musées). In a renovated scenography in 2019, the Fine Arts room of the museum presents a new hanging on the theme of Love. The collections interpret this universal sentiment in multiple forms across time and civilizations. Divine, intimate, legendary or devastating, love has inspired artists. They have drawn on sources from Greco-Roman mythology, biblical and historical accounts, and sometimes more simply from their own experience. The Catalogue des désirs of the Ministry of Culture has made it possible to enrich this journey of love with the portrait of Gabrielle d'Estrées as Diana. The loan of this painting is generously granted by the National Museum of the Château of Fontainebleau.