Discover the History of the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum’s Collection in a Time Travel Exhibition

The Toulouse-Lautrec museum invites visitors to go back in time and discover the history of its collection, from its origins at the beginning of the 19th century to the most recent acquisitions through a temporary exhibition which will be held until January 21.
Designed chronologically, the exhibition first presents the first museum of Albi and its collection of natural history, archeology and fine arts, well before the installation of the collections at the Palais de la Berbie, at the beginning of the 20th century, and the creation of the Toulouse-Lautrec museum in 1922.
Visitors will discover the first museum of Albi and its eclectic collection (natural history specimens, archaeological goods, extra-Western curiosities, fine arts), then will be guided through the history of the donation and inauguration of rooms dedicated to Toulouse-Lautrec, before the presentation of the creation of his modern art collection. The tour will end with the current development of the museum’s collection and its new acquisitions. The scenography traces the evolution of the presentation processes of the works, while reusing old museum windows in an ecological desire. Visitors will wander through spaces inspired by cabinets of curiosities and old archaeological display cases, then discover the first hanging of Toulouse-Lautrec’s paintings at the museum, in 1922, reproduced identically from period photographs. They will continue their visit in a lighter room with less dense hanging, a trend long favored for modern and contemporary collections, and will finish the exhibition in a space with brightly painted walls, reflecting current museographic trends. With the exception of a few loans from the departmental and municipal archives and the Gaillac museum, only works from the Toulouse-Lautrec museum are presented. Visitors will be surprised to discover new acquisitions and collections kept in reserve for decades. Restored for the occasion, these little-known paintings, sculptures and objects will amaze visitors with their quality and diversity.

Until January 21, Toulouse-Lautrec museum, Albi.