Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux was founded in 1783 with the creation of a first Musée de Bordeaux by Abbé Dupont des Jumeaux, supported by Intendant Nicolas Dupré de Saint-Maur. This place, inspired by the Enlightenment, brought together lawyers, scientists and teachers, but did not present art works. It disappeared in 1796. The Chaptal decree of 1801 formalized the creation of the present museum, with the sending of works from the national collections to unload the Louvre and promote art in the province.

In 1801 Pierre Lacour, a painter and first curator, was commissioned to organize the museum. The first works, sent by the State in 1803 and 1805, were exhibited in a hall of the municipal library. Despite precarious conditions, a "painting gallery" opened in 1804, mainly for the study of students of the School of Drawing. The collections gradually enriched, but the lack of space became a recurring problem.

In 1821, the museum settled in the northern wing of the Rohan Palace (now the town hall), after arrangements led by Michel-Jules Bonfin. The collections, especially enriched by the donation of the Marquis de Lacaze in 1821, remained vulnerable to fires, such as those of 1862 and 1870, which destroyed several major works. These events accelerated plans to build a dedicated building.

The construction of the present museum began in 1875 under the direction of architect Charles Burguet, with an inauguration in 1881. The building, in classic style, was in harmony with the Rohan Palace and neighbouring private hotels. In 1939, the Gallery of Fine Arts, located on the other side of the course of Albret, was added to accommodate temporary exhibitions. The museum, closed for renovation between 2011 and 2013, now houses more than 2,000 paintings and 600 sculptures, covering European art from the 15th to the 20th century.

The museum's collections reflect its turbulent history, with works from government shipments, donations (such as that of the Marquis de Lacaze) and acquisitions. Among the remarkable pieces are paintings by Perugin, Titian, Rubens, Delacroix, Redon and Picasso. The museum is also distinguished by its exceptional collection of Dutch painting from the seventeenth century, thanks in particular to the legacy of the Marquis de Lacaze.

Today, the Bordeaux Museum of Fine Arts consists of two sites: the main museum, in the southern and northern wings of the historic building, and the gallery of Fine Arts, dedicated to temporary exhibitions. There remains a major testimony of Bordeaux artistic history and a must-see cultural actor in New Aquitaine.

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