You are here : Home Museums France

Set in a formal French garden shaded by a cedar of Lebanon officially listed as a "remarkable tree", the former Archbishop's Palace in Tours is home to its Musée des Beaux-Arts, considered one of the best provincial museums in France for the richness and variety of its collections. Much of these came from the great houses of Touraine during the Revolution, and have continued to grow, supplemented by loans from the Musée du Louvre and the French state, gifts, bequests and acquisitions. Exhibited for the most part in the magnificent reception rooms in the 18th century wing, the collections include some major masterpieces, Italian Primitives, panels by Mantegna, 18th century paintings and furniture. The museum also holds a collection of modern and contemporary art.
L'architecture

The Collections

PAINTING	SCULPTURES	DRAWINGS
FURNITURE	PRINTS	ANCIENT BOOKS
ART OBJECTS

The property seized during the Revolution from the abbeys (Marmoutier, Bourgueil, La Riche) and Châteaux (Chanteloup, Richelieu) include Classical sculpture, paintings by Blanchard, Boucher, Boulogne, Houël, La Fosse, Lamy, Le Sueur, Parrocel, Restout, and some exceptionally fine furniture...
Created in 1801 by consular decree, the museum received thirty paintings from the Museum Central: pieces accepted by the Académie Royale de peinture dating from the 18th century and paintings by Rubens and Mantegna.

In the 19th century, the City of Tours acquired more works, including a number of 18th century French and Italian paintings. Allocations from the French state, bequests and gifts have enriched the collections of furniture, pictures, sculpture and art objects from a range of periods: notably paintings by Champaigne, Corneille, Coypel, Lagrenée, Nattier, Perronneau, and Rembrandt.

In 1963, the Linet bequest brought the museum the second largest collection of Italian Primitives in France after the  Louvre.

The 19th century is also well-represented with works by the Neo-classicists (David), Romantics (Vinchon, Boulanger), Orientalists (Chassériau, Delacroix), Realists and Impressionists (Monet, Degas), and the Symbolists.  

The 20th century collection includes Maurice Denis, Davidson, Calder, Debré, Asse, Zao Wou-Ki. The museum is continuing to enrich its collection: Veneziano and Largillière, loans of pictures by Debré, Vieira da Silva, Debré, sculpture by Giacometti.