FABRE MUSEUM

As the city's main art museum and a "Musée de France" (a designation designed to bring together French museums to create a single public museum service), the Musée Fabre is the pride and joy of Montpellier's esplanade. Wedged between two ultra-touristy landmarks, the Corum on one side and the Comédie on the other, the museum has plenty to strut its stuff in the Hôtel de Massilian, an imposing ^18th-century mansion. Steeped in history even before the collections were housed there, the museum also absorbs within its walls the former Jesuit College, a magnificent late ^17th-century building that today serves as the entrance hall for visitors. The museum was originally created following a proposal made in 1824 by painter and collector François-Xavier Fabre (1766-1837) to donate his collections to the city of Montpellier, on condition that a museum be built to house them. Fabre, winner of the Académie's Grand Prix for painting in 1787, had lived in Rome from 1788 to 1793, then permanently in Florence. There, he had gradually built up a very rich collection of paintings and drawings. After three years of municipal funding, the museum finally opened its doors on December 3, 1828. Today, the museum is still constantly enriched by numerous donations, bequests and purchases, and physically expands as new acquisitions are made in adjacent buildings, eager to offer visitors ever more novelties to sink their teeth into! Constantly evolving, the museum has earned its credentials both locally and nationally. Renovated between 2003 and 2007, it represents one of the largest collections in France. In fact, by 2021, the permanent collection will include over 2,000 paintings, 300 sculptures, 4,000 drawings and 1,500 engravings in seven exhibition rooms. It is complemented by a collection of several thousand objets d'art. Within these rooms, the public can discover an "old" section with Flemish and Dutch paintings, paintings and sculptures from the ^14th to the ^mid-18th century, and a large-scale section dedicated to the neoclassical style. The famous painter Pierre Soulages donated part of his collection to the museum, where it is presented in a specially dedicated pavilion. The modern section features contemporary sculptors of Languedoc origin, such as Germaine Richier (La Montagne), who died in Montpellier in 1959, Aristide Maillol and René Iché, as well as artists from the supports/surfaces movement, many of whom were born in the region (Claude Viallat, Vincent Bioulès and Daniel Dezeuze). Every two months, the Musée Fabre also hosts
temporary exhibitions on a variety of themes. Last September-October, we saw "Pierre Buraglio... d'après... autour... avec... according to..." showcasing the contemporary artist, "Dominique De Beir, accroc & caractère" and "La galerie d'Énée au Palais-Royal", so the museum always has something new to offer! The Hôtel de Cabrières-Sabatier d'Espeyran, housed in a ^19th-century mansion, is home to the Musée Fabre's Decorative Arts department. This historic residence offers a glimpse into the lifestyle of bourgeois and aristocratic society in the ^18th and ^19th centuries. The Hôtel Cabrières-Sabatier d'Espeyran has preserved all the elements that made up these apartments, creating a unique ensemble. In the faithfully reconstructed settings of its salons, this private mansion unveils a remarkable collection of furniture, as well as exceptional ceramics and silverware. As you can see, the Musée Fabre is not just one, but several jewels in the crown of local and European cultural history. Resolutely outward-looking, the dynamic museum is a benchmark for cultural mediation and social inclusion. In fact, the museum's visitors' service teams do their utmost to welcome visitors of all ages, whether individuals or schoolchildren, for events or introductions to art and painting in particular. The museum offers a range of activities for young children (from the age of 2), using "touring kits", as well as "tailor-made" activities for disabled visitors, using new forms of mediation such as multi-sensory resources (models, interpretation kits, olfactory and sound devices, etc.), digital tours of the museum from the comfort of your sofa, and other high-quality activities on Museum Night, for example. The museum also boasts a 124-seat auditorium, which hosts a program of national and international artistic events, a boutique annexed to the Sauramps bookshop, offering a selection of merchandise based exclusively on the museum's collections, and a restaurant. A true emblem of the esplanade and culture in Montpellier, the stones of the Musée Fabre literally come to life once a year during the "Cœur de Ville en lumières" event, when it becomes the special setting for a light and music show; a different way of (re)discovering it and affirming its importance in Montpellier life.