Visiting the Musée des Beaux Arts in Tours (France - Loire Valley) with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget
Despite a late night out watching Bastille Day fireworks on the banks of the Loire River in downtown Tours (France), Laurent and I woke up early to see the Musée des Beaux Arts.
I
loved art history and wanted to understand French better. The small Musée des Beaux Arts did not
disappoint with its art work that covered all the major events in the Bible and
with representative works from all periods that were important to the history
of Tours.
The
Museum itself is housed in the 17th and 18th century
archbishop’s palace. It was full of Mille
Fleur (1000 Flowers) tapestries, which were woven in the Touraine at one
time. You need very clean water to weave
tapestries like this.
There
was furniture from what I loosely term the “First Renaissance” when Charles
VIII saw what kinds of furniture the Italians had. Some Italian furniture was brought back to
France and then copied. It is a little
heavier than what the French produced on their own.
The
most famous painting in the museum is by Rembrandt and entitled The Flight into
Egypt by the Holy Family.
Our
visit to the Musée des Beaux Arts was short, but merited a detour as the
Michelin Green Touring Guide said. The
Musée des Beaux Arts is located by a park and bakery, so you can mix
croissants, culture, and coffee before you visit.
By
Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
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