Created in 1828 by the painter François-Xavier Fabre and entirely renovated in 2007, the Fabre Museum presents works of Western art, paintings, sculptures, drawings and objets d'art, from the 14th to the 21st century.
It is housed in an exceptional monument combining ancient and contemporary architecture and houses more than 800 works, 900 engravings and 3,500 drawings in a space of 9,200m².
It is one of the most beautiful French public collections, constantly enriched thanks to donations from discerning collectors and artists: first Fabre, then Valedau, Bruyas, Bonnet-Mel, Cabanel, Bazille...
Pierre Soulages has demonstrated his attachment to the museum and the city of Montpellier by a generous donation of his collection, offering a glimpse of his entire career.
The tour...
Then, thanks to a chronological tour, the visitor can appreciate the permanent collections which are organised in large groups of exceptionally rich works from the 14th to the present day.
These include Flemish and Dutch paintings with Rubens, Teniers and Ruisdael; the Renaissance with Veronese, Jean Cousin, Pedro de Campaña; the 17th century illustrated by Poussin, Bourdon, Blanchard, Le Sueur, Ribera and Zurbarán; the Regency and the Rococo with Ranc, Raoux, Natoire ; Neoclassicism with Vien, Houdon, David and, of course, Fabre; Romanticism with Delacroix and Géricault; Realism with Courbet, Academism with Ingres and Cabanel; the beginnings of Impressionism with Bazille, the explosion of colour with Van Dongen, Chabaud and Delaunay, and the sculptures of Germaine Richier.
At the end of the tour, the new wing reveals the exceptional donation and deposits made by Pierre Soulages, a total of 34 major paintings by the artist, as well as works by major players in contemporary French art such as Hantai, and numerous members of the Supports/Surfaces movement such as Viallat, Bioulès and Dezeuze.
The Musée Fabre offers an ambitious programme of exhibitions, guided tours and workshops dedicated to the plastic or digital arts.
Several areas of the museum such as the documentation centre, the auditorium, the bookshop-boutique and the restaurant combine ideas of relaxation, discovery and conviviality.
Fabre Museum
39 Good News Boulevard,
34000 Montpellier
https://museefabre.montpellier3m.fr/
