Bordeaux Attractions

Venue: Mus&eacutee des Beaux-Arts    When: Daily; not Tue

The Musée des Beaux-Arts Bordeaux's monumental collection of paintings ranks among the top ten in France, no small achievement in a nation which boasts so many beautiful art collections.

The museum was founded in 1801. Napoleon bequeathed it a part of the Royal collection and bounty that had been seized during the war - a collection of 29 paintings. Among these were Van Dyck's Portrait of Marie Medici and Rubens' St George. The second donation, in 1805, came from Delacroix's father, Prefect of the Gironde region, and included canvasses by Titian and Pierre de Cortone. However, the major step was in 1829 when the museum bought the Marquis of Lacaze's majestic collection of 279 works.

Today, the first rooms are dedicated to French, Italian and Northern works from the 16th to the 18th centuries. The collection of Caravaggio-inspired works which include those by Giovanni Do, Giordano and Vouet, as well as the 18th century Dutch paintings, are considered to be particular strengths. The 18th-century English school is also well represented, with tableaux by Reynolds, Lawrence, Staurt, Zoffany and Ramsay.

The Northern wing, which starts off with works by 19th-century Romanticist Delacroix, holds the modern section of the collection. Delacroix's Greece on the Ruins of Missolonghi is generally viewed as the museum's most famous acquisition. There are rooms devoted to Realism, Neo-Classicism and an impressive ensemble of 20th-century works, including The Fauvists and Cubists. Sculpture is not neglected either, with pieces by Zadkine, Gargallo and Despiau.

Set in the municipality's manicured gardens, the museum provides the ideal classical setting for its collection.