Musée des Beaux-Arts de Tours

Tours, France

The Musée des beaux-arts de Tours (Museum of Fine Arts of Tours) is located in the bishop's former palace, near the cathedral St. Gatien, where it has been since 1910. It displays rich and varied collections, including that of painting which is one of the first in France both in quality and the diversity of the works presented.

In the courtyard, there is a magnificent cedar of Lebanon and and a stuffed elephant in a building in front of the museum. This elephant was killed because of a bout of madness during a circus parade by the "Barnum & Bailey" circus in the streets of Tours on 10 June 1902.

The museum has over 12,000 works but only 1,000 are on show to the public. On the ground floor, the museum has a room especially dedicated to Tours art of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The museum was classified as a monument historique on 27 June 1983.

References:

Comments

Your name

Website (optional)


Address

Rue Lavoisier 53, Tours, France
See all sites in Tours

Details

Founded: 1910
Category: Museums in France

More Information

www.musees.regioncentre.fr
en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.2/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Tours Cathedral (0 km)
Basilica of St. Martin (0,9 km)
Château de Tours (0,2 km)
Tours Old Town (0,9 km)
Château de Plessis-lez-Tours (2,9 km)
Church of St. Julien (0,5 km)
Marmoutier Abbey (1,9 km)


Château de Saché (20,1 km)
Château de Loches (37,7 km)
Château d'Amboise (22 km)
Château d'Azay-le-Rideau (22,9 km)
Château de Chinon (42,8 km)
Château de Chaumont (37,8 km)
Château de Villandry (14,8 km)
Post Museum (21,9 km)
Château de Langeais (23,1 km)

User Reviews

Salina Consultants Co. Pte., Ltd (2 months ago)
Nice collection of art with a beautiful garden
Douglas Wong (2 months ago)
Sorry it's closed today Thursday December 20. Missed it.
Ayesha Ahmad (9 months ago)
It is an interesting place for art lovers and history buffs. Some interesting old paintings of Tours are also on display. Get your students id for discounted tickets. Artist might also get discounts. Parking can be difficult to find as it's usually full due the museum being in the city centre. This place has a lot of stairs and the museum is quite big. Can be a problem for people with wheelchair. Get a bottle of water too on hot days as there is no air conditioning.
RON TANZI (2 years ago)
A large number of quality paintings dating from 14th c. to 19th c. Highlights are works by the Italian Renaissance master, Mantegna and French Rococo artist, Boucher. Get a layout map to avoid being confused by multiple stairways.
Alexandre Muller (2 years ago)
A nice museum to visit, cheap (or even free on the first Sunday of the month) and not too long. The parc is also a nice place to have a walk.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Top historic sights of Istria
Photo from Flickr, copyright Guido Rudolph

Historic Site of the week

Lübeck Cathedral

Lübeck Cathedral is a large brick-built Lutheran cathedral in Lübeck, Germany and part of the Lübeck UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 1173 Henry the Lion founded the cathedral to serve the Diocese of Lübeck, after the transfer in 1160 of the bishop's seat from Oldenburg in Holstein under bishop Gerold. The then Romanesque cathedral was completed around 1230, but between 1266 and 1335 it was converted into a Gothic-style building with side-aisles raised to the same height as the main aisle.

On the night of Palm Sunday (28–29 March) 1942 a Royal Air Force bombing raid destroyed a fifth of the town centre. Several bombs fell in the area around the church, causing the eastern vault of the quire to collapse and destroying the altar which dated from 1696. A fire from the neighbouring cathedral museum spread to the truss of the cathedral, and around noon on Palm Sunday the towers collapsed. An Arp Schnitger organ was lost in the flames. Nevertheless, a relatively large portion of the internal fittings was saved, including the cross and almost all of the medieval polyptychs. In 1946 a further collapse, of the gable of the north transept, destroyed the vestibule almost completely.

Reconstruction of the cathedral took several decades, as greater priority was given to the rebuilding of the Marienkirche. Work was completed only in 1982.

The cathedral is unique in that at 105 m, it is shorter than the tallest church in the city. This is the consequence of a power struggle between the church and the guilds.

The 17 m crucifix is the work of the Lübeck artist Bernt Notke. It was commissioned by the bishop of Lübeck, Albert II. Krummendiek, and erected in 1477. The carvings which decorate the rood screen are also by Notke.

Since the war, the famous altar of Hans Memling has been in the medieval collection of the St. Annen Museum, but notable polyptychs remain in the cathedral.

In the funeral chapels of the southern aisle are Baroque-era memorials by the Flemish sculptor Thomas Quellinus.

Map Top Sights Tags Historical Periods City Guides About Us Sign Up Upload new site
© 2019 SpottingHistory.com. All rights reserved.