La Roche-sur-Yon (Vendée). An equestrian statue of Napoleon I (see ill.) which dominates a square itself named in his honor: in La Roche-sur-Yon, tributes to the founder of the city line the public space. But the future museum will ultimately not be in this vein. Exit the idea of a large Napoleonic museum, which the outgoing mayor (Horizons) hoped to deliver by 2028. For the new municipality (Divers left), the project is neither relevant nor a priority. “We discovered an extremely worrying budgetary situation, with investments disproportionate to the City’s means. As of this year, we have chosen not to let ourselves be drawn into a spiral and to review files which involve heavy expenditure. This is the case of the museum »explains Martine Chantecaille, first deputy in charge of culture. According to the executive, the budget of 11 million euros hitherto retained for the museum is simply not sustainable, especially since the planned project would have imposed €900,000 in annual operating costs.
A new direction for the museum
In the latest budgetary guidelines report, no investment line is therefore dedicated to the project, the municipality clearly displaying its desire to favor support for associations, companies and the local fabric. “The idea is not to abandon the museum project, but simply to postpone it, tempers Martine Chantecaille. We are giving ourselves a few months, until September I think, to decide on the location, the configuration of the space… The work will therefore probably begin next year. » If the potential fund allocated to the future museum has not yet been decided, the new team reaffirms its ambition to give it a new direction. “The previous team had put forward a Napoleonic axis which raises questions, with regard to the content of our current collections”points out Martine Chantecaille. In fact, if the figure of Napoleon is intrinsically linked to the history of La Roche-sur-Yon, the City only holds a few works relating to him, including a Bust of Napoleon according to Antoine-Denis Chaudet and the Portrait of Napoleon in the coronation costume of Ferdinand Birotheau.
“We are planning a space on the history of the City and town planning which would integrate Napoleon’s approach. But the majority of the museum must focus on our collections, which deserve to be much more valued”adds Martine Chantecaille. In the scientific and cultural project under discussion, it is therefore a question of revaluing the three major collections of the City, which were well integrated into the old project but not as centrally. Starting with the flagship of the collections: the remarkable contemporary photography collection, bringing together works by Jeff Wall, Cindy Sherman and even Andreas Gursky, which is currently dormant in municipal reserves. The important collection of 19th century paintings, notably by Paul Baudry (1828-1886), and the collection built around the work of the illustrator Benjamin Rabier (1864-1939) are also expected to be better highlighted.
In the meantime, several of these works are presented in the Malraux space, a former nursery school where the municipal museum has temporarily taken up residence since 2023, following the sale of its very dilapidated old building. The location of the future museum has not yet been decided. The project to establish it on three levels in the former Conservatory (see ill.), which overlooks Place Napoléon, is currently being re-evaluated. Martine Chantecaille, however, provides a clarification: “We are not ruling out this option at all, it is perhaps even the most likely! But we are simply checking its cost because this building is a ruin that must partly be consolidated. »
Former court, then former conservatory, which will perhaps host the future municipal museum of La Roche-sur-Yon.
© City of La Roche-sur-Yon.
