Musée Ingres

Montauban / France

The Musée Ingres is located in Montauban, France. It houses a collection of artworks and artifacts related to Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, and works by another famous native of Montauban, Antoine Bourdelle. In 1851, Ingres, at 71 years of age, gave part of his collection, including copies, work of pupils, and Greek vases, as a gift to the city of his birth. The Ingres room was inaugurated in 1854. The death of Ingres in January 1867 led to a considerable enrichment of the collection with additional works, in particular several thousands of drawings. The museum is located in a building that once served as the residence of the bishops of Montauban. The structure belongs chiefly to the 17th century, but some portions are much older, notably an underground chamber known as the Hall of the Black Prince . During World War II, the Musée Ingres served as one of the temporary places of storage for the Mona Lisa, evacuated from the Louvre at the beginning of the war. A renovation carried out between 1951–1958 made Musée Ingres a modern institution according to the designs of the time, equipped with additional inventories. Among the paintings by Ingres in the collection are: Joseph Ingres Jean-François Gilibert Lorenzo Bartolini The Dream of Ossian Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter Roger Freeing Angelica Madame Henri Gonse Jesus among the Doctors

Montauban Cathedral

Montauban / France

Montauban Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral and a national monument of France located in the town of Montauban. It is the seat of the Bishopric of Montauban, created in 1317, abolished by the Concordat of 1801 and transferred to the Archdiocese of Toulouse, and restored in 1822. The cathedral of Montauban was Protestant from the start of the Wars of Religion until Catholicism returned to Montauban in 1629. The construction of a new church, the present building, was agreed after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. The cornerstone of the new cathedral was laid in 1692, and the church was consecrated in 1739. Initially, the architect François d'Orbay supervised the works. When he died in 1697, he was succeeded by Jules Hardouin-Mansart and Robert de Cotte. The towers frame the west façade, a pure product that applies all the conventions of classical art, i.e. an Ionic facade with a peristyle mounted by statues of the Four Evangelists which replaced the original statues. The interior is decorated with pilasters, metopes and triglyphs, and the cathedral's strict and elegant vertical lines make it a typical example of classical architecture. A famous painting by Ingres, "The Vow of Louis XIII", hangs in the north arm of the transept.