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2018 was an especially good year
for the Musée des Confl uences, as it benefi ted from
four exceptional gifts that include forty pieces of
sub-Saharan African art from the collection of Ewa
and Yves Develon (fi gs. 2 and 3). These objects are
a preamble to what will ultimately be the donation
of the entire Develon Collection, which is composed
primarily of masks and sculptures from Nigeria, the
art of which has historically been underrepresented in
French public collections. They join the 7,000 pieces
the museum’s African department already has and enrich
its Nigerian holdings, which until now have been
made up of Yoruba and Igbo cult objects collected in
the nineteenth century by Fathers Brun and Lutz of
the Pontifi cal Society for the Propagation of the Faith,
rounded out by utilitarian objects donated by Denise
and Michel Meynet in 2000.
With the gift of their collection to the Musée des
Confl uences, the Develons hope to continue sharing
their passion for African art and for Nigerian sculpture
FIG. 1 (left): Standing fi gure.
Fang, Cameroon or Gabon.
Wood, copper alloy, beads.
Musée des Confl uences, gift of Ewa and Yves
Develon.
Photo © Olivier Garcin.
FIGS. 2 and 3 (below): Portraits of
Yves and Ewa Develon, 2016 and
2018.
Facing page bottom, left to right:
FIG. 4: Ewa and Yves Develon’s
gallery in Ramatuelle, between
1993 and 1996.
Archives of E. and Y. Develon © DR.
FIG. 5: Card for an exhibition in
Ramatuelle in July 1993.
Archives of E. and Y. Develon © DR.
FIG. 6: Business card for Galerie
Develon.
Archives of E. and Y. Develon © DR.
FIG. 7: Ewa and Yves Develon in
Kribi, Cameroon, 1990.
Archives of E. and Y. Develon © DR.
ART on view
A Desire for Art
THE EWA AND YVES DEVELON
COLLECTION AT THE
MUSÉE DES CONFLUENCES
By Alexandre Girard-Muscagorry, Carole Millon, and Marie Perrier