Fine Arts Museum

The Musée des Beaux-Arts, from the French Revolution to the modern day…

As far back as 1792, this former abbey was chosen by the Municipal Council to become a venue to curate paintings, medals, bronzes and other outstanding artworks. And as early as 1803, the public already had access to an impressive collection of paintings, including 110 sent by the Louvre. The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon was up and running and experienced periods of prosperity and growth. These included the golden age from 1875 to 1900, with major architectural works in the building and an ambitious artwork acquisition policy. In the interwar period, the collections were extended to firstly Far-Eastern art and modern decorative arts, then retrospectives of modern artists such as Picasso or Matisse.

The Musée des Beaux-Arts, a cloister concealing a garden

Even if you haven’t yet visited the museum in person, you surely already know about its magical setting, imbued with history. It’s housed in a former monastery founded in around the 6th century and fully rebuilt in the 17th. The architects then conceived a majestic building featuring four wings surrounding the cloister inspired by Italian designs. The current garden occupies this former indoor space.

At the time, the nuns who lived there already enjoyed a central pond, in the shade of the orange trees. Since then, Musée des Beaux-Arts' garden has changed a lot without losing any of its charm. Under the arcades, admire the Greek friezes from the Parthenon in Athens and the Nereid monument from Xanthos. Take a stroll among the flower beds, trees, and marble and bronze sculptures. Or take a break to grab a snack or enjoy a quick read down by the central pond.

The Musée des Beaux-Arts: an overwhelmingly vast collection

How about a quick inventory of the museum today? 8,000 ancient artefacts, 3,000 works of art, 50,000 coins and medals, 3,000 paintings, 15,000 works on paper and 1,000 sculptures, most of which are on public show. 

The museum is divided into departments:

• The Ancient Artefacts collection beckons you to explore archaeological finds from the Mediterranean basin, from Pharaonic Egypt to the Roman Empire.
• The Work of Art department covers fourteen centuries of history of decorative arts since the 6th century.
• The Medals department features medals, coins, precious jewellery and treasures, covering all eras.
• The Sculpture collection retraces the development of the discipline from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, featuring masters such as Chinard, Rodin or Bourdelle.
• Finally, we love wandering down the aisles of the Paintings department, the MBA’s flagship collection. The greatest masters are exhibited on the second floor, along with the major movements of European pictorial art, the 19th-century Lyon school, impressionism, and the late-19th-century avant-gardes: Delaunay, Foujita, Léger and Bacon.

The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, a vast programme

On site, you can choose between visiting the permanent collections  (€8), or checking out the current temporary exhibition (€12). But your experience won’t stop there. Between guided tours, readings in the garden and other events, there’s plenty on!

To see the museum in a new light, you can also take a seat in the restaurant/tea room up on the first floor. Will you pick a table indoors to admire Raoul Dufy’s monumental painting or out on the patio overlooking the garden? Finally, the gift shop is a genuine bookstore featuring more than 2,000 reference books on art history, and is well worth a look.