The Curtius Museum is a museum of archaeology and decorative arts, located on the bank of the Meuse River

Meuse River

The Maas or Meuse is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea...

 in Liège, classified as a Major Heritage of Wallonia

It was built sometime between 1597 and 1610 as a private mansion for Jean Curtius, industrialist and munitions supplier to the Spanish army. With its alternating layers of red brick and natural stone, and its cross-mullion

Mullion

A mullion is a vertical structural element which divides adjacent window units. The primary purpose of the mullion is as a structural support to an arch or lintel above the window opening. Its secondary purpose may be as a rigid support to the glazing of the window...

ed windows, the building typifies the regional style known as the Mosan (or Meuse) Renaissance

Mosan Renaissance

Mosan Renaissance, also known as Maasland Renaissance, is a regional architectural style dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. The style is only remotely related to Renaissance architecture...

.

After a 50 million euro redevelopment the museum is scheduled to reopen as the Grand Curtius (Le Grand Curtius) in March 2009, housing the collections of the archaeology, weaponry, decorative arts, religious art and Mosan art museums. Its collections include Bonaparte, First Consul

Bonaparte, First Consul

Bonaparte, First Consul was an 1804 portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte as First Consul by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. The painting is now in the collection of the Curtius Museum in Liège.-Background:...

(1804).

External links

• Official website of the Grand Curtius Museum