In 1850, the Blois authorities wished to showcase local culture
and decided to create a museum of fine arts in the François I wing as an artistic pole of attraction,
so the Museum of Fine Arts presence was rendered official.
No sooner had it opened, than the gifts and donations of artists or non-artists,
consignments from the State and a miscellany of acquisitions were lodged in the museum.
Collections grew so quickly and extensively that by 1851, more rooms had to be occupied.
Responses to appeals for donations have contributed to the creation of an eclectic collection of artistic,
archaeological and ethnological objects that reflect the general history of the arts.
State depositories for artwork and recent acquisitions have continued to enrich a composite entity
consisting primarily in remarkable 16th and 17th century works related to the castle's history,
and it is presently containing some 35000 items.
Each room in the museum is devoted to a single theme in the history of Western art,
and the theme-based circuit, which eschews the usual chronological sequencing,
is at once specific to the Blois Museum of Fine Arts, and a museographic innovation.
Indeed, the museum offers a new way of viewing art history
by grouping works from different epochs that were devoted to a given subject.
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