France Guide
Burgundy
Musée des Beaux-Arts
Opening time: Daily except Tues 10am–5pm
Opening time: Free
Given the dukes' possessions in the Netherlands, it's hardly surprising that the Musée des Beaux-Arts boasts a Flemish collection. Among the highlights is the Nativity by the so-called Master of Flémalle, a shadowy figure who may have been the teacher of Rogier van der Weyden and who ranks with van Eyck as one of the first artists to break from the chilly stranglehold of International Gothic.
Visiting the museum also provides the opportunity to see the surviving portions of the original ducal palace, including the vast kitchen and the magnificent Salle des Gardes, richly appointed with panelling, tapestries and a minstrels' gallery. Here are displayed the lavish, almost decadent tombs from the Chartreuse de Champmol of Philippe le Hardi and Jean sans Peur and his wife, Marguerite de Bavière, with their startling, painted effigies of the dead, surrounded by gold-plated angels.