Tours · Montpellier · Museum
Musee Fabre
One of the greatest art museums in provincial France, founded in 1825 by the Montpellier painter Francois Xavier Fabre. Its galleries hold masterpieces by Courbet, Bazille and Soulages behind a facade that fuses an old mansion with a sleek modern wing.
About this place
The Musee Fabre is the artistic jewel of Montpellier and one of the richest fine art museums anywhere in provincial France. It was founded in 1825 by Francois Xavier Fabre, a painter born in the city who made his fortune in Florence and gathered a magnificent collection of paintings, drawings and books before donating it to his home town. The collection was installed in the refurbished Hotel de Massillian and opened to the public in 1828. Fabre's generosity inspired generations of later collectors, above all Alfred Bruyas, a friend of Gustave Courbet, whose gifts brought the museum superb works by Courbet as well as by the Montpellier born Impressionist pioneer Frederic Bazille. In 2005 the abstract master Pierre Soulages donated a stunning group of his black, light catching canvases. A vast renovation costing around sixty one million euros wove the historic mansion together with a bold modern extension, reopening in 2007, and today more than a thousand works fill its light filled galleries.
Key facts
- 1825 year — The museum was founded on a donation from the painter Francois Xavier Fabre
- 2007 year — The museum reopened after a major renovation and extension
- 61 million euros — The approximate cost of the renovation that joined the old mansion to a modern wing
📍 Boulevard Bonne Nouvelle 39, 34000, Montpellier