At the edge of the Jardin d’Essai and a short walk from the Martyrs’ Memorial, the Musée des Beaux Arts houses the best collection of art in the country. Opened in 1930 and with some 8000 items on the walls and in store, it traces the progress of European and particularly French art from the 16th century, starting with Barnaba di Modena, passing through the neoclassicists such as David and Delacroix, Orientalists including Fromentin and a Renoir painted during the artist’s visit in 1882. There is also a sizeable collection of work by Algerian artists and by artists from elsewhere, donated when Algeria won independence.