PROGRAM

France’s Greatest Museum
at Fine Arts Paris 2026

The Fondation pour la Sauvegarde de l’Art Français returns to Fine Arts Paris with its campaign “Le Plus Grand Musée de France” (France’s Greatest Museum ). A chance to discover three restored seventeenth-century masterpieces, saved through the mobilisation of civil society, and to shine a light on more than ten years of commitment to safeguarding local heritage.

What is “France’s Greatest Museum”?

In hosting the campaign “Le Plus Grand Musée de France” (“France’s Greatest Museum”) for the third time, Fine Arts Paris once again celebrates the commitment shown by civil society to preserving local heritage.

Led by the Fondation pour la Sauvegarde de l’Art Français, recognised as a public-interest organisation, the initiative draws on over a hundred years of work to preserve and promote the artistic and heritage riches of France’s towns and villages, veritable open-air museums. The Foundation comes to the rescue of buildings and works of art that are freely accessible to all, by mobilising a network of correspondents rooted in local communities and drawing on the expertise of specialists in architecture and art history.

Since 2013, and placed under the high patronage of the President of the Republic, the campaign “Le Plus Grand Musée de France” invites everyone, and particularly young people, to play an active part in safeguarding and restoring works and objects of art in their own communities, reclaiming this shared heritage and appreciating it at its true worth. To help break down the social barriers to accessing culture, the campaign is especially committed to reaching young people in rural areas, notably through its work with agricultural high schools. This growth is sustained by an ongoing search for corporate funding and by the invaluable commitment of donors, who are essential to the programme’s success.

Le Bernin (1598-1680) , "Saint Sébastien" , 1617-1618 - Église Saint-Martin de Jouy-en-Josas © Willy Labre

Bernini
(1598-1680)
Saint Sébastien
1617-1618
Church of Saint-Martin de Jouy-en-Josas
© Willy Labre

In thirteen years, the campaign has restored more than 400 works, raised €3 million, supported 1,600 high school students across France and involved over 350,000 people, thanks to the support of 14 partner companies and 3 regions that have helped root the programme in local communities.

For the Fondation pour la Sauvegarde de l’Art Français, one conviction remains: the greatest treasures are not always found in the greatest museums, but sometimes just off the beaten path, in small villages, guardians of our heritage.

Which restored works does “France’s Greatest Museum” present this year?

For its third participation in Fine Arts Paris, the Fondation pour la Sauvegarde de l’Art Français is exhibiting, for the duration of the fair, three seventeenth-century masterpieces on stand S18 of “Le Plus Grand Musée de France”, at the heart of the Grand Palais:

Bernini (1598-1680), Saint Sébastien, 1617-1618, Church of Saint-Martin, Jouy-en-Josas. Restored as part of the Allianz competition in 2024-2025 and named winner for the Île-de-France region, the sculpture also travelled to Rome for the exhibition “Bernini e i Barberini” at the Palazzo Barberini.

Simon Vouet (1590-1649), The Rapture of Saint Mary Magdalene, circa 1649, Church of Saint-Loup, Châlons-en-Champagne. Restored thanks to the patronage of the Fondation Lazard Frères Gestion in 2026, this oil on canvas is being previewed ahead of the exhibition “Simon Vouet: Secrets d’atelier” at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes.

Jusepe de Ribera (1591-1652), Christ Blessing,1607-1608, Church of Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul, Nivillac. Restored through a student-led campaign in 2014-2015, the work was featured in the “Ténèbres et Lumières” retrospective at the Petit Palais in 2024-2025.