The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Tours (English: Museum of Fine Arts of Tours) is located in the bishop's former palace, near the cathedral St. Gatien, where it has been since 1910. It displays rich and varied collections, including that of painting which is one of the first in France both in quality and the diversity of the works presented.

Description

In the courtyard, there is a magnificent cedar of Lebanon and a stuffed elephant in a building in front of the museum. This elephant was killed because of a bout of madness during a circus parade by the "Barnum & Bailey" circus in the streets of Tours on 10 June 1902. The museum has over 12,000 works of which 1,000 are on show to the public. On the ground floor, the museum has a room especially dedicated to Tours art of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The museum was classified as a

monument historique () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...

on 27 June 1983.

Collections

The museum has a large and fairly homogeneous collection of paintings, which includes several masterpieces such as two paintings by

Andrea Mantegna Andrea Mantegna (, ; ; September 13, 1506) was an Italian Renaissance painter, a student of Ancient Rome, Roman archeology, and son-in-law of Jacopo Bellini. Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with Perspective (graphical), pe ...

, from the predella of the San Zeno Altarpiece: * Collection of Italian Primitives shows works by Mantegna, Antonio Vivarini, Giovanni di Paolo, Lippo d'Andrea and Lorenzo Veneziano. Italian painting of the following centuries is represented by works of Giovanni Battista Moroni,

Mattia Preti Mattia Preti (24 February 1613 – 3 January 1699) was an Italian Baroque artist who worked in Italy and Malta. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Saint John. Life Born in the small town of Taverna in Calabria, Preti was called ''Il Ca ...

, Sebastiano Conca, Francesco Cairo and Giuseppe Bazzani. * The French painting until the nineteenth is displayed by artists such as Claude Vignon,

Philippe de Champaigne Philippe de Champaigne (; 26 May 1602 – 12 August 1674) was a Duchy of Brabant, Brabant-born French people, French Baroque era painter, a major exponent of the French art, French school. He was a founding member of the Académie royale de pein ...

, Jacques Blanchard,

Noël Coypel Noël Coypel (; 25 December 1628 – 24 December 1707) was a French Painting, painter, and was also called Coypel le Poussin, because he was heavily influenced by Poussin. Biography His father, Guyon Coypel, was an unsuccessful artist, original ...

, Eustache Le Sueur, Jean Jouvenet, Charles de La Fosse, Henri-Camille Danger, Hyacinthe Rigaud, Nicolas de Largillière, Pierre Subleyras, François Lemoyne,

Jean-Marc Nattier Jean-Marc Nattier (; 17 March 1685 – 7 November 1766) was a French Painting, painter. He was born in Paris, the second son of Marc Nattier (1642–1705), a portrait painter, and of Marie Courtois (1655–1703), a miniaturist. He is noted for hi ...

François Boucher François Boucher ( , ; ; 29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories ...

, Carle Van Loo,

Nicolas Lancret Nicolas Lancret (; 22 January 1690 – 14 September 1743) was a List of French artists, French painter. Born in Paris, he was a brilliant depicter of light comedy which reflected the tastes and manners of French society during the Régence, regen ...

, Jean-Baptiste Perronneau, Joseph Vernet, Hubert Robert, Ingres,

Théodore Chassériau Théodore Chassériau (; ; September 20, 1819 – October 8, 1856) was a Dominican-born French Romantic painter noted for his portraits, historical and religious paintings, allegorical murals, and Orientalist images inspired by his travels to A ...

Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( ; ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French people, French Romanticism, Romantic artist who was regarded as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: ...

Edgar Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints, and drawings. Degas is e ...

and

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...

. * The collection of Flemish and Dutch painting presents works by artists such as

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of clas ...

('' Virgin and Child''),

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

, Frans II Francken, Gerard ter Borch,

Bartholomeus van der Helst Bartholomeus van der Helst (1613 – buried 16 December 1670) was a Dutch painter. Considered to be one of the leading portrait painters of the Dutch Golden Age, his elegant portraits gained him the patronage of Amsterdam's elite as well as th ...

, David Teniers the Younger. * Modern painting is represented with artworks by

Maurice Denis Maurice Denis (; 25 November 1870 – 13 November 1943) was a French painter, decorative artist, and writer. An important figure in the transitional period between impressionism and modern art, he is associated with '' Les Nabis'', symbolism, ...

or Maria Elena Vieira da Silva. * There are sculptures by Jean-Antoine Houdon,

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

Antoine Bourdelle Antoine Bourdelle (; 30 October 1861 – 1 October 1929), born Émile Antoine Bordelles, was an influential and prolific French sculptor and teacher. He was a student of Auguste Rodin, a teacher of Giacometti and Henri Matisse, and an important ...

Alberto Giacometti Alberto Giacometti (, , ; 10 October 1901 – 11 January 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, Drafter, draftsman and Printmaking, printmaker, who was one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century. His work was particularly influenced ...

and Olivier Debré.

Photos

Andrea Mantegna 022.jpg, ''Christ in the garden of olives'' by Andrea Mantegna, 1459 Mantegna, Andrea - La Résurrection - 1457-1459.jpg, ''The resurrection'' by Andrea Mantegna, 1459 Claude Vignon - Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.jpg, ''Parable of the Unforgiving Servant'' by Claude Vignon, oil, 1629 BoucherFrancois Appolon.jpg, ''Apollo Revealing his Divinity before the Shepherdess Isse'' by François Boucher, oil, 1750 Demachy - vue panoramique de Tours.jpg, ''Panoramic view of Tours'' by Demachy

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaux-Arts de Tours, Musee des Art museums and galleries in France Museums in Indre-et-Loire Musee des Beaux-Arts de Tours FRAME Museums Musee des Beaux-Arts de Tours 1795 in art Art museums and galleries established in the 1790s Buildings and structures completed in 1795 Educational organizations established in 1795 Musee des Beaux-Arts de Tours