The Château-Musée de Blois has successfully acquired a terracotta bust of Gaston d'Orléans by Jacques Sarazin (circa 1636), as previously announced in September 2025. The acquisition was funded by the French Ministry of Culture's Fonds du Patrimoine, the Région Centre-Val de Loire via the FRAM, and multiple private patrons including the Fondation La Marck, Lionel and Ariane Sauvage, the Société des Amis du Château et des Musées de Blois, and the Association pour la Protection du Vieux Blois et ses Environs. A public online campaign via HelloAsso also gathered nearly 130 individual donors. The bust is now installed in the Salle Duban at the château.
This acquisition matters because it enriches the collection of the Château-Musée de Blois with a significant work by Jacques Sarazin, a major 17th-century French sculptor, and highlights the successful collaboration between public institutions, private foundations, and individual donors to preserve national heritage. The bust's arrival also strengthens the cultural ties between Blois and the Musée du Grand Siècle in Saint-Cloud, underscoring the importance of regional art patronage and the role of crowdfunding in heritage acquisitions.