Musée de I´Hôtel-Dieu – Hospices de Beaune

Hospices de Beaune was a hospital for the care and nurturing of the poor.  Perhaps Rolin felt the need to help his community, after all he was in charge of local taxation.  Perhaps, as some, have suggested it was a desire to secure a heavenly place in the afterlife.  The hospital worked very well from its first patient in 1452 until it closed in 1971.  It also ended up owning 152 acres of Grand and Premier level grape vines. 

Entering the Pauper’s Ward the first thought is how massive and open it is.  164 feet long by 46 feet wide by 52.5 feet tall, it is the biggest room in the hospital and is dedicated to the poor.  Beds line the perimeter on both sides of the room.  Rolin believed each patient deserved to be treated with dignity,  so beside every bed is a small table holding a pewter pitcher, a mug, a bowl and a plate.  At times when needed, each bed could hold two patients.  The ceiling was constructed to appear as the hull of a boat.  Wooden cross beams are decorated and held in carved monsters mouths.  Between the beams are the busts of the 15th century townfolk.  The central area was set up for meals for those who were able to leave their beds.

Guidons de Salins was a member of the Salins-la-Tour aristocracy.  She was 18 when she became the third wife of the 47 year old Rolin in 1421.  She is considered a major factor in Rolin becoming an active philanthropist in his later years, and is considered instrumental to the creation of the Hospice de Beaune.  Designed to be hospital for the poor, Salins filled the hospital with artworks to generate a feeling of comfort for the patients. After Rolin’s death in 1462 she continued to run the hospital until her death eight years later in 1470.

Following the Hundred Years’ War between England and France the area of Burgundy was destitute.  With the ending of the war troops from both sides were released.  Some went home, others became bands of marauders wandering the countryside robbing and plundering wherever they could, and in general, generating misery and famine in the countryside.  This coupled with an outbreak of the plague left the people of Burgundy and the community of Beaune nearly destitute. A hospital became one solution.

The hospital consists of two parallel buildings around a common courtyard.  Beginning with the entrance, a tour consists of a clockwise walk through the different rooms.  The walk starts with the front entrance, through the stone courtyard, into the ward for the paupers, through the chapel, the ward for the wealthy, the operating room museum, the kitchen, the pharmacy, the St. Louis Maternity Ward and finally the room holding the original Rogier van de Weyden polyptych (meaning many - usually paintings divided into sections or panels) altarpiece.

Distributed across the Pauper Ward are these floor tiles commemorating Rolin and his wife Guidons. The floor tiles are about 4 inches square, and four tile come together to form a single tile.  On the left half see the N for Nicolas.  On the right half is the G for Guidons.  Around the tile edge is engraved Rolin’s moto, “Seulle Estoile" (translated…my only star).  © Michael Evans Photographer 2013  https://michaelevansphotographerblog.com/2013/09/18/beaune-home-of-the-hospices-de-beaune-and-considered-to-be-the-capital-of-burgundy-wines/

In addition to building the hospital, Rolin received approval from Pope Eugene IV to established the Les sœurs hospitalières de Beaune" religious order in 1441.  These were the nurses (nuns) who provided the care for the patients.  Over time the hospital extended it’s influence, establishing branches in the nearby villages of Pommard, Nolan and Meursault.

The Beaune Hospital was probably designed by Jacques Wiscrère, a well-known Flemish architect.  Other craftsmen included French masons, painters and glass cutters.  The structure is considered one the best examples of Northern Renaissance Civic Architecture.  The interior is filled with portraits of Rolin, his wife Guidons and members of the extended family. 

The hospital organization over the years has been the benefactor of gifts and donations of everything from farms and woods to paintings from patients and patient families.  Because of this, the organization owns over 150 acres of some the best vineyards in Burgundy. 

Next is the chapel and the reality that most came to this institution to die. At the north end of the Paupers Ward there was a screen, which was opened every three hours, allowing the patients to view the chapel which held the Rogier van de Weyden Altarpiece.  A depiction of Christ and the Judgment Day reminds the patients that while their Lord suffered for them in the end, He is in control. 

Every fall they hold a wine auction.  Since 1859 on the third Sunday of November their wines are sold at a charity auction in the midst of a three day celebration called Les Trois Glorieuses.  This holiday is dedicated to the foods and wines of Burgundy.  The festivities start with a black tie dinner on Friday evening and move on to street shows, parades, tastings and celebrations of the local foods.  The auction, which begins on Sunday afternoon draws as many as 500 participants in person, over the phone and on the internet.  Because it is a charity auction for the non-profit hospital, the prices can be slightly higher than the market value of the wine, but it also as an influencer toward the pricing for the various wines for the year.  The auction has been organized by Christie’s (2005 - 2020) and Sotheby’s since 2021.  Wine is sold by the barrel, with a record 799 barrels sold during the 149th auction in 2009.  The 2023 auction is November 17, 18 and 19.  Proceeds go to support the new hospital, which took over when the Hospice de Beaune closed in 1971 to become a museum.

Five nuns staffed the kitchen at all times preparing meals for the patients, mainly soups and meat dishes.  To the right of the picture is a rotisserie.  When wound it can turn the rotisserie for 45 minutes.  The stove provided hot water.  The kitchen continued in operation until 1985 providing meals for retirement home residents.

The pharmacy is very orderly.  Ingredients for mixing, cooking, distilling are placed in pottery jars and organized from the most to the least used.  The first room, as shown here, is used for the concocting and preparation of elixir medications. The biggest jar stores theriaca, a cure-all made from herbs, wine and opium.

Just before the last stop, the gift shop, is the climate-controlled room holding the Rogier van de Weyden Altarpiece.  Weyden, one of the most prominent Flemish artists of the time, was commissioned by Rolin in 1450 to create the altarpiece for the Pauper’s Ward. The back side of the work has been removed and placed alongside the front so that all of the sections can be viewed at the same time. In the center, Christ oversees judgment day.  In his right hand he holds a lily signifying mercy.  In his right he holds a sword for judgment.  The rainbow he sits on declares salvation.  The globe under his feet stands for the world-wide universality of the Christian message. Four angels surrounding the archangel St. Michael blow their horns calling the dead to come forth from their graves for the judgment.   St. Michael with his scales carefully weighs the sins of each soul, moving the saved to his right and the damned to his left.  In the panels on either side are Mary, St. Anthony and St. Sebastian, the saints noted for their healing powers.  In the outer panels are the patrons along with Rolin on the left, and Guidons de Salins on the right praying for the revived souls as they emerge from their graves.  From the expressions on the face of Jesus and St. Michael, we can see that they are not swayed by the prayers or calls of the risen as they weigh the lives lived.