Claude Monet visits the land of Gustave Courbet

A day of discovery. As part of the celebrations to mark the 150th anniversary of the first Impressionist exhibition initiated by the Musée d'Orsay, the Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'Archéologie in Besançon will be hosting the central fragment of Claude Monet's Déjeuner sur l'herbe, painted between 1865 and 1866, from 11 March to 27 August 2024. The central figure in the painting is none other than Gustave Courbet.
The two artists met in Normandy, where Courbet set up his easel with Eugène Boudin to paint the Normandy coast. Claude Monet and Gustave Courbet started seeing each other in 1866 and met up again at Chailly, near Barbizon, in the company of the painter Frédéric Bazille. It was here that Monet painted his monumental "Déjeuner sur l'herbe".

The Greater Besançon Tourist Office invites you to discover Monet's fabulous "Déjeuner sur l'herbe" and the life and work of Gustave Courbet. You will be accompanied by a guide who will show you the works of Monet and Courbet at the Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'Archéologie.
10am: Guided tour of Monet and Courbet at the Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'Archéologie
12pm: Lunch on the grass in the Parc Micaud
Afternoon free visit: stroll through one of France's most beautiful cities, and discover Besançon's environmental riches with the bio-diversity trail included in the "Visiter Besançon" application.