Not many people know it, but the former Bishop's Palace in Montauban, now the Ingres Museum, was used as a hiding place for many works of art from the Louvre Museum during the Second World War, including the world-famous Mona Lisa.
Today, the museum overlooking the Pont Vieux bridge is mainly dedicated to two famous sons of Tarn-et-Garonne's capital, the painter Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres and the sculptor Édouard Bourdelle.
Archaeological collections from Gallo-Roman times occupy the "Black Prince" room in the basement, a reminder of the castle erected by the English during the Hundred Years War.
On the first floor, six rooms are solely devoted to the painter born in Montauban. Over 4,500 drawings and thirty or so paintings provide an insight into Ingres' artistic career, from the works of his youth in David's studio to the influence of Antiquity and Raphael on his works, inspired by memories of his time spent in Rome and Florence.
Two museums in the Ingres room are devoted to French and foreign ceramics from the 18th and 19th centuries.
The current Ingres Bourdelle museum occupies the former episcopal palace, which became town hall after the French Revolution. The building itself is erected on the medieval remains of a first military structure built in the 13th century to ensure the protection of the city and to protect the future bridge. In the 14th century, Montauban was handed over to the English, the Black Prince (son of the King of England, Edward III) then built a fort which remained unfinished after the forced departure of the English.
True "court of miracles" until 1520, the place was reinvested by the consuls in order to re-establish the castle's defensive system in the face of the threat of religious wars. In 1629, the besieged city capitulated and the castle remained abandoned. It was then that Pierre de Bertier, a true "champion" of the Counter-Reformation, decided to establish his new episcopal palace on the ruins of the old fort, the center of the Protestant resistance. Its architect Bernard de Campmartin chooses to keep part of the medieval structures and to superimpose an original building composed of a central body and two wings organized around a courtyard closed by a large gate.
After the French Revolution, the palace was confiscated as national property and then sold at auction. The City bought it and set up its town hall there, which moved in 1908.
It was when Ingres died that the establishment took on its identity and its development: the museum then inherited the set of works from the studio of the famous Montalbanese painter and takes the name of "Ingres museum".
After three years of renovation, this museum is stepping into the 21st century.
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Closed every Monday, January 1, May 1, July 14, November 1 and December 25.
Take advantage of your entrance ticket to the Ingres Bourdelle museum to discover the Victor Brun Museum for free.
Prices: € 8 full price, € 4 reduced price (young people aged 18 to 27, teachers, Olympe Pass, SLAM card, Cezam card, large families), free on the 1st Sunday of the month and for those under 18.
