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Fabre Museum

France.com

PRESENTATION

After three years of works, the Fabre Museum in the conurbation of Montpellier, newly refurbished and extended is re-opening its doors and exhibiting nearly 800 works in an area covering over 9.200m2** .You enter it by the inner court of the former Jesuit college.
It owes its origins to the Montpellier artist, François-Xavier Fabre, in 1825.
It is one of the biggest museums in France. It holds Flemish, Dutch, Italian, Spanish and French collections. Painters of the great European schools of the 16th to the 18th centuries (Zurbaran, Reynolds, Tenier, Veronese…) and of the French schools (Greuze, Ingres, Delacroix, Courbet, Bazille…), ceramics and sculptures, contemporary paintings.

 

AN EXCEPTIONAL MONUMENT 

The crown jewel of provincial museums, the Fabre museum has now reopened its doors to visitors after four years of renovation work to redesign, restore and expand its galleries and other spaces. The buildings that comprise the Fabre museum are of exceptional historical value, even more so now that their original harmony and diversity have finally returned.
  •   Aged buildings with contemporary construction

Now visitors can follow a smooth and enjoyable path through the 17th century Jesuite college and Fabre museum, created in 1828 in the Massillian private mansion. The mansion has undergone significant changes, such as the spectacular Griffon Gallery, now restored and restituted to its original volume.  The visit continues through 19th century extension, notably via the Gallery of Columns, built in 1875-1878 to house the Bruyas collection.

Not stopping there, the renovation project’s architects designed an entirely new building to increase the exhibit surface area. The interior wall, entirely built of textured glass, lights up at night with over 3,000 neon bulbs.
Not only is the glass facade extremely original, but it is also an integral architectural part of the project. This pavilion is dedicated to 20th century works by Pierre Soulages, Simon Hantaï and the Support-Surface group. The work carried out over four years, including the renovation effort, represents a total investment of 62.7 million euros. 

  • Funding was provided by: 
Communauté d'Agglomération de Montpellier: 44.4 million euros
National funding: 15.5 million euros
Conseil Régional du Languedoc-Roussillon: 2.8 million euros.


THE COLLECTIONS

The Fabre museum tells the story of how Europe evolved from the Renaissance to today, with a series of collections sure to delight you. Today, the museum offers over 800 works, 900 engravings and 3,500 drawings in its 9,200 m² exhibit area. Come admire the numerous masterpieces that have contributed to the strong reputation of Montpellier Agglomération’s Fabre museum.
 

The museum will unfold its new layout, giving you more freedom and meeting the needs and desires of every visitor. 

See an exceptional collection of 17th century Dutch and Flemish paintings. Then be delighted with works by the great masters of European painting such as Allori, Veronese, Ribera, Bourdon, Coypel and Reynolds. Another high point of the visit is the work of François-Xavier Fabre, the museum’s founder, and his contemporaries such as David and Ingres. 

The museum’s modern and contemporary collections are also filled with marvellous paintings, from Delacroix to Géricault, and from Courbet, who stayed in Montpellier, and the Support-Surface group, not to mention impressionist works by Bazille, Staël, Van Dongen, Richier, and many more.

THE COLLECTION HISTORY

 
Montpellier created its first organisation for displaying art publicly in 1779, following the creation of the Société des Beaux-Arts.The initiative grew quickly a few years later when the museum was created thanks to a gift by local painter François-Xavier Fabre (1766-1837). He donated his works in 1825 along with those of other 16th –19th century French, Italian, and Northern European artists such as Raphael, Veronese, Cigoli, Guerchin, de Heem, Rubens, Bourdon, Poussin, Vouet, Coypel, Natoire, Greuze, and David.

Two other prominent Montpellier citizens soon followed his example. 

In 1836, Antoine Valedau (1777-1836) bequeathed an exceptional collection of 17th century Dutch and Flemish paintings, including works by Mieris, Dou, Metsu, Steen, Téniers and Rubens. Shortly thereafter the Fabre museum entered the modern era when Alfred Bruyas (1821-1877) donated a collection of 19th century paintings (in 1868 and 1876) largely composed of works by Delacroix, Gericault, Corot and Courbet.  The overall collection grew throughout the 20th century with a regular flow of acquisitions and donations, notably an exquisite and unique selection of paintings by Frédéric Bazille and representative works by Morisot, Monet, Degas, van Dongen, Delaunay, not to mention several contemporary artists, such as Jean Hugo, Germaine Richier and the Support-Surface group originating in Languedoc-Roussillon. 

The journey winds up with an enchanting conclusion: the only collection of works by Pierre Soulages. This collection retraces Soulages’ career. A highly demanding, internationally renowned French painter, Pierre Soulages has always been very attached to the Languedoc-Roussillon region and Fabre museum. Visitors will discover a retrospective of his work from 1951 to 2006 in an area specially designed to highlight its unique qualities.

Contemporary artist Daniel Buren guides you along the visit, from outside to in, with his black and white granite work La Portée, symbolising the museum’s renaissance and its role in modern art.

THE MUSEUM AT YOUR SERVICE

The Fabre museum gives you many opportunities to discover its collections and let your mind dive deeper into a particular work, artistic
movement or artist.

The new Fabre museum is fully equipped to take care of you, welcome you, and provide information to ensure a comfortable visit.

– Workshops are offered for all, so that visitors can truly participate in their own discovery process. Focusing both on arts and crafts and digital art, these workshops are designed to stimulate participants’ creative abilities while learning about tools, techniques and styles.

 – A multimedia gallery with free access to 8 on-line computers provides detailed information about various aspects of the museum.

 – Interpretation areas at various locations throughout the museum help you get the most out of your visit by providing information about the collections, works and artists.

 – A 120-seat auditorium offers various programmes related to current national and international artistic events.

 – A work and reading area (10 seats and 2 computers) is also available for visitors. 

The Fabre museum offers two areas for receptions, outside regular open hours. Its architectural environment combines avant-garde and elegance and allows morning or evening events to be organised for up to 400 participants. The Buren entrance hall and the Richier atrium meet the high standards for holding even the most prestigious events.
Auditorium and reception area – room for 124 + 200 people.

LODGING

See the listing of the Hotels in Montpellier 

PRACTICAL INFORMATIONS

Musée Fabre
39 boulevard Bonne Nouvelle
34000 MONTPELLIER

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