Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

In 1885, a group of enthusiasts, led by ornithologist Alfred Caval, founded a museum dedicated to birds in the Mediterranean region. Their ambition was to create an essentially local space, covering the natural riches of the Midi. Four years later, in 1889, the museum opened in the Denis Castle (a cossue residence left to the city with its library), initially focused on natural history. The directors quickly expanded his vocation to fine arts, collecting donations, commanding works and developing deposits with the state.

At the beginning of the 20th century, under the leadership of Colonel de Poitevin de Maureillan (first appointed curator), the museum is oriented towards archaeology, notably through excavations of the Greek site of Olbia. He then adopted the motto Parvula Sed Grata ("small but pleasant"). The climax of the collections occurred between 1930 and 1960, thanks to Emmanuel-Charles Bénézit, son of the editor of the encyclopedia of painters, who used his network to enrich the present fund massively. After the Second World War, an inspection of Georges Henri Rivière (1946) led to his classification as a controlled museum, then to the name Musée de France in 2002.

Since 2019, the museum occupies the former building of the Banque de France (1925), combining neoclassical architecture and Art Deco elements, with a garden dedicated to temporary exhibitions. His collections combine paintings from the 18th to 19th centuries, archaeology of Olbia (IVth century BC), sculptures and photographs. The basement still preserves the vault room, vestige of its original banking vocation.

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