Musée Ingres Bourdelle

Located in a building classed Monuments Historiques in the heart of Montauban between Toulouse and Bordeaux, the museum houses the legacy of the country’s child prodigy: Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867) and that of the other illustrious artist from Montauban, the sculptor Emile-Antoine Bourdelle (1861-1929).

Founded at the beginning of the nineteenth century and dedicated to Ingres following his generous bequest in 1867  of  his collection of 4500 drawings, 44 paintings and a violin as well as his personal collection of artworks and documents.
The Antoine Bourdelle legacy consists of a number of portraits, the oldest done in a realistic style, others more expressionist, the later works reflect his search for simplicity in form and surfaces.

Enlarged, updated, digitalised the museum today extends over 2 700 m2  with new spaces, increased accessibility, a new layout, a sumptuous conservation cabinet that houses Ingres’ drawings, an entire floor of works by Bourdelle and magnificent rooms for temporary exhibitions. The Ingres Museum took the opportunity during this transformation to change its name and it is now called the Ingres Bourdelle Museum thereby paying homage to the two great artists who were born in Montauban.

A brief description of what is on offer

The rooms on the ground floor are dedicated to temporary exhibition spaces that lead into the book store/tea room/ Ingres Bourdelle Museum gift shop.

The jewels in the Museum’s crown are found in the rooms of the first floor that display Ingres’ work and the artwork of his time.

The lower ground floor celebrates the work of the sculptor Emile Antoine Bourdelle represented in all his periods by marbles, bronzes, plasters, models and completed works.

The second floor is devoted to fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth century paintings of the Italian and Northern schools (Titien, Piazzetta, Tiepolo, Spranger) and the French and foreign schools from the twelfth century (Lebrun, Mignard, Jordaens, Van Dyck et Cuyp). There is a section that represents eighteenth-century art from Boucher to David.

The basement of the museum, which are the remains of the fourteenth-century stronghold, houses important archaeological collections as well as objects linked to local history since Gallo-Roman times.