Musée Fabre
Montpellier’s fine arts museum, with European painting from the Renaissance to today.
The Musée Fabre grew out of a large gift of paintings made to Montpellier in 1825 by the painter François-Xavier Fabre, and it opened to the public in 1828 in a former Jesuit college and town house on the edge of the historic centre. Over two centuries it has become one of the major fine arts museums in France, with strong holdings of Flemish, Dutch and Italian painting, French art from the 17th to 19th centuries and sculpture by Houdon.
A four-year renovation completed in 2007 tripled the exhibition space and added a modern wing, giving room to later collections such as works by Gustave Courbet, Frédéric Bazille and a large group of paintings by Pierre Soulages. The museum also runs the Hôtel de Cabrières-Sabatier d'Espeyran nearby, a decorative arts house museum, and stages major temporary exhibitions each year.
Highlights
- Courbet's 'Bonjour Monsieur Courbet'
- Paintings by Frédéric Bazille
- A large room of Pierre Soulages canvases
- Neoclassical sculpture by Houdon
