six new works on loan from the Musée d’Orsay

Six new paintings around the theme of still life have just been placed on deposit in the modern route of the Fabre museum in Montpellier.

Edouard Manet, Paul Sérusier, François Bonvin, Georges-Daniel de Monfreid are on vacation in Montpellier. A total of six master paintings, mainly still lifes, are exhibited at the Fabre Museum. These paintings from the collections of the Musée d’Orsay are on deposit for a period of five years.

France 3 Languedoc-Roussillon / E. Regaud / Y. Le Teurnier / E. Kibireva / F. Rinauro

Dialogue between the works

In the aisles of the Fabre museum, if a few curious people have come especially for the occasion, many discover them. “It puts in parallel artists who would not have met”, rejoices a visitor. “It was interesting to choose a still life from the Musée d’Orsay which hadn’t been shown in the collections of the Parisian museum lately, like magnificent still lifes which enter into dialogue with other artists that we have in our collection”, explains Maud Marron-Wojewodzki, Heritage Curator responsible for the modern and contemporary collections at the Fabre Museum. This new hanging sheds new light on the works of the modern route, the idea being also to enhance the permanent exhibition thanks to these novelties.

Among the works deposited, there are mainly canvases from the second half of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, a period that is quite underrepresented but which has some treasures. Like this very beautiful painting of Marie-Madeleine, painted by George-Daniel de Monfreid in 1891. An almost expressionist oil on canvas produced before the period of the Fauves where purple and green dominate.

“La Madeleine”, oil on canvas produced by the painter George-Daniel de Monfreid in 1891 (France 3 Occitanie)

Make the works travel thanks to the deposit

This deposit at the Fabre museum is not the first of the Parisian museum. A few works have been exhibited here since the 1930s. The deposit, generally for five years, is intended to reinforce the presentation of the permanent collections. It is reserved for museums in France or historical monuments open to the public.

The aim is to give visibility to works in the regions and thus make them accessible to everyone. “It’s interesting because they come from another place, I think the works have to travel, it’s important that we can see them in different places in France and not always in Paris”, assures a visitor. This will not be the last collaboration of the two institutions, which would already work together on future projects.

The Fabre Museum is open every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., except Mondays.
Prices: €9 and €6 – Free on the first Sunday of the month.