The Musée Fabre is a museum in the southern
French city of
Montpellier
Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...
, capital of the
Hérault
Hérault (; , ) is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault (river), Hérault River, its Prefectures in France, prefecture is M ...
''
département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...
''.
The museum was founded by
François-Xavier Fabre
François-Xavier Fabre (; 1 April 1766 – 16 March 1837) was a French painter of historical subjects.
Born in Montpellier, Fabre was a pupil of Jacques-Louis David, and made his name by winning the in 1787.
During the French Revolution, F ...
, a Montpellier painter, in 1825. Beginning in 2003, the museum underwent a 61.2 million euro renovation, which was completed in January 2007. It is one of the main sights of Montpellier and close to the city's main square, the
Place de la Comédie. The museum's national importance is recognised by it being classified as a ''
Musée de France'' by the
French Ministry of Culture
The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...
.
History
The town of Montpellier was given thirty paintings in 1802 which formed the basis of a modest municipal museum under the
Empire
An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
, moving between various temporary sites. In 1825, the town council accepted a large donation of works from Fabre and the museum was installed in the refurbished ''Hôtel de Massillian'', officially opened on 3 December 1828. Fabre's generosity led others to follow his example, notably Antoine Valedau who donated his collection of Dutch and Flemish masters to the city. On the death of Fabre in 1837, a legacy of more than a hundred pictures and drawings completed the collection.
In 1864, Jules Bonnet-Mel, an art collector from
Pézenas, bequeathed 400 drawings and 28 paintings. In 1868,
Alfred Bruyas gave the works from his private gallery to the city. He is credited with having moved the museum collection into the modern era. In 1870, Jules Canonge, from
Nîmes
Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...
, gave a collection of more than 350 drawings. A legacy of Bruyas of more than 200 works completed his gift in 1877.
In 1968, Mme in accordance with the will of her husband, a diplomat and great bibliophile, gave to the city their ''hôtel particulier'' , along with its contents. The structure had been built under the
Third Republic.
Around 2001, the Library moved out of the complex, freeing a sizeable area and offering the chance to carry out a major modernisation and enhancement of the building. This took four years and included a whole new wing. The building re-opened in February 2007.
Collection
:''See also
:Paintings in the Musée Fabre.''
On display are
ceramics
A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...
from
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
and the rest of
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. Furthermore, the museum has a large collection of paintings from the 17th until the 19th century, with a large representation of the
''luminophiles'' movement. There is also sculpture.
Painting from 15th to 18th century
Some of the well-known painters featured in the museum:
French :
*
Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...
5 paintings including ''Hector'', ''Portrait of Doctor Alphonse Leroy''
*
Alexandre Cabanel
Alexandre Cabanel (; 28 September 1823 – 23 January 1889) was a French Painting, painter. He painted historical, classical and religious subjects in the Academic art, academic style. He was also well known as a portrait painter. He was Napoleon ...
*
Sébastien Bourdon
Sébastien Bourdon (; 2 February 16168 May 1671) was a French painter and engraver. His ''chef d'œuvre'' is ''The Crucifixion of St. Peter'' made for the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, Notre Dame.
Biography
Bourdon was born in Montpellie ...
*
Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Jean-Honoré Fragonard (; 5 April 1732
(birth/baptism certificate)
– 22 August 1806) was a French painter and printmaker whose late Rococo manner was distinguished by remarkable facility, exuberance, and hedonism. One of the most prolific art ...
(''
The Palette Game'' and ''
The See-Saw'', both on loan from the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
)
*
Nicolas Poussin
Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was a French painter who was a leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythologic ...
(''Venus and Adonis'')
*
Simon Vouet
*
Gaspard Dughet
*
Charles Le Brun
Charles Le Brun (; baptised 24 February 1619 – 12 February 1690) was a French Painting, painter, Physiognomy, physiognomist, Aesthetics, art theorist, and a director of several art schools of his time. He served as a court painter to Louis XIV, ...
*
Nicolas de Largillière
Nicolas de Largillière (; baptised 10 October 1656 – 20 March 1746) was a French people, French painter and Drawing, draughtsman.
Biography
Early life
Largillière was baptised at the in Paris on 10 October 1656. The son of a merchant hatm ...
*
Hyacinthe Rigaud
*
Jean-Baptiste Oudry
Jean-Baptiste Oudry (; 17 March 1686 – 30 April 1755) was a French Rococo painter, engraver, and tapestry designer. He is particularly well known for his naturalistic pictures of animals and his hunt pieces depicting game. His son, Jacques-Cha ...
*
Carle Van Loo
*
Claude Joseph Vernet
*
Jean-Baptiste Greuze
Jean-Baptiste Greuze (, 21 August 1725 – 4 March 1805) was a French painter of portraits, genre scenes, and history painting.
Early life
Greuze was born at Tournus, a market town in Burgundy. He is generally said to have formed his own ...
: 9 paintings including ''Le Petit Paresseux'', ''
Twelfth Night Cake''
*
Hubert Robert
Outside France :
*
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
:
**
Jacopo Bassano
**
Paolo Veronese
Paolo Caliari (152819 April 1588), known as Paolo Veronese ( , ; ), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of religion and mythology, such as ''The Wedding at Cana (Veronese), The Wedding ...
**
Annibale Carracci
Annibale Carracci ( , , ; November 3, 1560 – July 15, 1609) was an Italian painter and instructor, active in Bologna and later in Rome. Along with his brother Agostino Carracci, Agostino and cousin Ludovico Carracci, Ludovico (with whom the Ca ...
**
Alessandro Allori : 3 paintings including ''Venus and Cupid''
[http://www.wga.hu/art/a/allori/alessand/venus_cu.jpg ]
**
Federico Zuccari
Federico Zuccaro, also known as Federico Zuccari and Federigo Zucchero ( July/August 1609), was an Italian painter, draughtsman, architect and writer. He worked in various cities in Italy, as well as in other countries such as Spain, France, t ...
**
Bernini
Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, ; ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 1598 – 28 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor ...
** Il
Guercino
Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666),Miller, 1964 better known as (il) Guercino (), was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The vigorous n ...
: 2 paintings
**
Domenichino : 2 paintings
**
Salvator Rosa
**
Luca Giordano
**
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 ...
**
Francesco Guardi
Francesco Lazzaro Guardi (; 5 October 1712 – 1 January 1793) was an Italian painter, nobleman, and a member of the Venetian School (art), Venetian School. He is considered to be among the last practitioners, along with his brothers, of the clas ...
**
Giovanni Pannini
*
Flanders
Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
and
Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
:
**
Pieter Brueghel the Younger
Pieter Brueghel (also Bruegel or Breughel) the Younger ( , ; ; between 23 May and 10 October 1564 – between March and May 1638) was a Flemish painting, Flemish painter known for numerous copies after his father Pieter Bruegel the Elder's ...
: 2 paintings
**
Peter Paul Rubens
Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish painting, Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged comp ...
: 3 paintings
**
Jacob Isaakszoon van Ruisdael : 3 paintings
**
Gerrit Dou
Gerrit Dou (; 7 April 1613 – 9 February 1675), also known as Gerard Douw or Dow, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, whose small, highly polished paintings are typical of the Leiden fijnschilders. He specialised in genre scenes and is noted for h ...
**
Gabriel Metsu : 2 paintings
**
Frans van Mieris the Elder : ''
Young Woman Stringing Pearls''
**
Gerard ter Borch
**
Jan Steen
Jan Havickszoon Steen ( – buried 3 February 1679) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, one of the leading genre painters of the 17th century. His works are known for their psychological insight, sense of humour and abundance of colour.
Life
...
: 2 paintings
**
Adriaen van Ostade
**
David Teniers the Younger : 8 paintings
*
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
:
**
Francisco Zurbarán : 2 paintings including ''The Angel Gabriel''
**
Jusepe Ribera
*Other :
**
Anton Raphael Mengs
Anton Raphael Mengs (12 March 1728 – 29 June 1779) was a German Neoclassicism, Neoclassical painter.
Early life
Mengs was born on 12 March 1728, at Ústí nad Labem in the Kingdom of Bohemia, the son of Ismael Mengs, a Danish-born painter wh ...
**
Joshua Reynolds
Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter who specialised in portraits. The art critic John Russell (art critic), John Russell called him one of the major European painters of the 18th century, while Lucy P ...
Painting from the 19th and 20th century, with a number of Fauvist painters
*
Frédéric Bazille (''
Vue de village'', ''
Aigues-Mortes
Aigues-Mortes (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region of southern France. The medieval Ramparts of Aigues-Mortes, city walls surrounding th ...
'', ''
La Toilette'', ''
Atelier de la rue Furstenberg'')
*
François-Léon Benouville (''The Wrath of Achilles'')
*
Gustave Courbet
Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( ; ; ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and the ...
15 paintings including ''The Bathers'' or ''Les Baigneuses'', ''
Bonjour Monsieur Courbet''
*
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: ...
(''Fantasia'', ''Algerian women in their room'')
*
Kees van Dongen
Cornelis Theodorus Maria "Kees" van Dongen (26 January 1877 – 28 May 1968) was a Dutch-French painter who was one of the leading Fauves. Van Dongen's early work was influenced by the Hague School and symbolism and it evolved gradually into a ...
(''Portrait of
Fernande Olivier'')
*
Raoul Dufy
Raoul Dufy (; 3 June 1877 – 23 March 1953) was a French painter associated with the Fauvist movement. He gained recognition for his vibrant and decorative style, which became popular in various forms, such as textile designs, and public build ...
*
Jean Hugo
*
Albert Marquet
Albert Marquet (; 27 March 1875 – 14 June 1947) was a French painter. He initially became one of the Fauve painters and a lifelong friend of Henri Matisse. Marquet subsequently painted in a more naturalistic style, primarily landscapes, bu ...
*
Pierre Soulages
*
Nicolas de Staël
Nicolas de Staël (; January 5, 1914 – March 16, 1955) was a French painter of Russian origin known for his use of a thick impasto and his highly abstract landscape painting. He also worked with collage, illustration and textiles.
Early li ...
*
Claude Viallat
*
Maria Helena Vieira da Silva
Image:Gustave Courbet 010.jpg, '' Bonjour, Monsieur Courbet'' (Gustave Courbet
Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( ; ; ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and the ...
)
Image:Frédéric Bazille 002.jpg, '' Vue de village'' ( Frédéric Bazille)
File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Frédéric Bazille.jpg, '' Frédéric Bazille at his Easel'' (Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; ; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French people, French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionism, Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially femininity, fe ...
)
Image:Francisco de Zurbarán 031.jpg, ''Saint Agatha
Agatha of Sicily () is a Christian saint. Her Calendar of saints, feast is on 5 February. Agatha was born in Catania, part of the Sicilia (Roman province), Roman Province of Sicily, and was martyred . She is one of several virgin martyrs who are ...
'' ( Francisco de Zurbarán)
Image:Allori Venus Cupido.jpg, ''Venus and Cupid'' ( Alessandro Allori)
Sculpture
*
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 ...
*
Jean-Antoine Houdon (''Summer, Winter'')
*
René Iché
*
Aristide Maillol
*
Germaine Richier
See also
*
List of Jesuit sites
This list includes past and present buildings, facilities and institutions associated with the Society of Jesus. In each country, sites are listed in chronological order of start of Jesuit association.
Nearly all these sites have be ...
*
List of largest art museums
Art museums are some of the largest buildings in the world. The world's most pre-eminent museums have also engaged in various expansion projects through the years, expanding their total exhibition space.
List
The following is a list of art mus ...
References
External links
*
Official Musée Fabre (Agglomération de Montpellier) website—
CAUE de l'Hérault: Musée Fabre - Étapes du chantier de réaménagementEugène Thomas (archiviste du département de l'Hérault), ''Description du musée Fabre sous le Second Empire'', in ''Montpellier: tableau historique et descriptif, pour servir de guide à l'étranger'', chez Félix Seguin, 1857
{{DEFAULTSORT:Musee Fabre
Fabre
Buildings and structures in Montpellier
Museums in Hérault
Fabre
Art museums and galleries established in 1828
1828 establishments in France
Tourist attractions in Montpellier