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Origin and history

The Grobet-Labadie Museum was born from the will of Marie Labadie, the only daughter of Alexandre Labadié, an industrialist and politician from Marseille. In 1873, his father had a private hotel built by architect Gabriel Clauzel, facing the Longchamp Palace. Marie, after two marriages – first with Bruno Vayson, Mayor of Murs, then with Louis Grobet, painter and musician – travels across Europe with her husbands to acquire more than 7,000 works of art and decorative objects.

On the death of Louis Grobet in 1917, Marie decided to bequeath the mansion and its collection to the city of Marseille by an act of 19 October 1919. The municipality accepted the donation on January 24, 1920, although with little initial enthusiasm. Marie even finances some of the amenities. The museum finally opened its doors to the public in January 1926, after an official inauguration on November 3, 1925 by Mayor Simeon Flaissières.

The museum presents a variety of objects: furniture, paintings, tapestries, sculptures, earthenware, musical instruments and curiosities. The pieces are organized on three levels, reflecting the eclectic tastes of donors, ranging from primitive Flemish to 18th century works. Among the remarkable pieces are tapestries of Aubusson, faiences of Moustiers, paintings attributed to masters such as Delacroix or Monticelli, and a cabinet of curiosities.

Ranked "Musée de France" in 2003, the establishment was listed as a historical monument on June 15, 2022, and was classified on June 25, 2025. Despite its wealth, the museum is experiencing repeated closures: in 2013 for personnel reasons, and in 2020 during the VOCID-19 pandemic. Since, it only opens at the occasion of one-off events like Heritage Days.

The mansion, designed by Gabriel Clauzel, illustrates 19th century bourgeois architecture. Its staircase decorated with paintings, its lounges decorated with tapestries and its cabinets of curiosities make it a unique testimony of Marseille private patronage. The collection, preserved in its entirety, offers an overview of the lifestyles and artistic passions of the Marseille elite of the time.

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