Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

As early as 1745 Dom Malachie d'Inguimbert, bishop of Carpentras, opened to the public his personal collections accumulated for 26 years in Italy, notably in Rome where he served as librarian and confessor of Pope Clement XI. These collections, including rare manuscripts, coins, paintings and art objects, were left to the city in 1757, forming the nucleus of the library-museum. The revolutionary seizures and subsequent donations enriched this fund, initially housed in the attic of the library before being transferred in 1847 to an enlarged mansion between 1872 and 1887.

The particularity of Inguimbertine lies in its hybrid status, maintaining a unique correlation between written heritage and museum collections, unlike other institutions where these ensembles were separated. Today, it houses 250,000 volumes (including 100,000 ancients), 3,000 manuscripts, 16,000 drawings, as well as archaeological, beax-arts and ethnographic collections. Ranked in 1974, it is headed by a State Conservative to preserve this interdisciplinarity desired by its founder.

Faced with the saturation of the spaces, a project to transfer to the former Hôtel-Dieu (also founded by Bishop d'Inguimbert) is under way to modernise public reception and conservation. The museum, restored in 2008-2009, has regained its original museography with red-brown walls and lighting suitable for works. The collections reflect the French, Italian and Flemish schools of the seventeenth to eighteenth centuries, as well as local archaeological pieces and historical reconstructions, such as an 18th century cabinet.

The successive legacies, including that of Count Victor de Sobrirats in 1964, have enriched the decorative arts sections (furniture, tapestries of Aubusson) and ethnography (agricultural tools, ceramics of Moustiers). The Hôtel-Dieu, in rehabilitation under the direction of the chief architect of the Historic Monuments Didier Repellin, prefigures an innovative museography linking writing and image, with thematic routes and wider access to the public.

The Inguimbertine is also distinguished by its ancient municipal archives and internationally renowned heritage holdings, such as the 6,000 coins and medals or the 1,000 paintings. Its organisation in four museums (Duplessis, Sobirats, Lapidary, Comtadin) illustrates the diversity of the collections, while maintaining their historical cohesion. This model, almost unique in France, bears witness to the encyclopedic vision of its founder.

Finally, the current project aims to integrate new technologies to offer remote services, rich documentation and interactive museography. The aim is to democratize access to this exceptional heritage, while preserving its physical and intellectual integrity, as evidenced by the recent restorations and the restoration of the original colours of the exhibition rooms.

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