Musée des Augustins

Welcome to the Musée des Augustins, a place where art and history are literally carved into the stone. This building was not originally intended to be a museum; for centuries, it was a convent, a place of prayer and quiet…

We begin in the heart of the monastery: the cloister. This is a large, square courtyard surrounded by a covered gallery, which served as the center of monastic life. …

Moving into the Romanesque sculpture gallery, we enter one of the museum's most significant spaces. This hall is filled with stone capitals rescued from the now-destroyed cloister of the Basilica of Saint-Sernin and the Cathedral…

One of the absolute jewels of the museum is the sculpture of Notre Dame de Grasse. This late fifteenth-century stone statue of the Virgin and Child is a masterpiece of International Gothic style. …

We now move into the rooms dedicated to Gothic sculpture and religious art. These spaces are often taller and more light-filled than the Romanesque galleries, reflecting the Gothic architectural obsession with height and light. …

The former church of the Augustins is now one of the most impressive galleries in the museum. The vast, vaulted space is hung with large-scale paintings and filled with monumental sculpture. …

Leaving the medieval world behind, we move into the upper floors, which house the museum's extensive collection of nineteenth-century paintings. This wing was added during the museum's expansion and reflects the changing tastes…

As we conclude our tour of the Musée des Augustins, take a moment to reflect on the extraordinary journey we have taken. We have moved from the quiet, meditative spaces of a medieval cloister to the grand, light-filled galleries…