The Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille (Museum of Fine Arts of Lille), which houses large collections, very quickly became the second largest museum in France. It was inaugurated in 1890 and completely renovated between 1991 and 1997. The building that houses it is part of the 19th century architectural repertoire, as is the prefecture facing it.
The Museum of Fine Arts of Lille covers the fields of archaeology, numismatics (study of coins), as well as paintings from the 17th to the 20th century, sculptures, medieval and renaissance art, cabinet of drawings, Flemish sacred art, earthenware, relief plans of the northern fortresses (France, Belgium and the Netherlands).
The Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille offers a panorama of the greatest European artistic centres from the 12th to the 20th century, with many masterpieces illustrating the most striking trends in art history, from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.
There are more than 650 paintings on display (Brueghel,Bosch, Rubens, Van Dyck, Goya, Veronese, David, Chardin, Delacroix, Courbet, Monet, Sisley,…) in the painting department, but there is also a gallery of ceramics and another dedicated to 19th century French sculpture (Carpeaux, Camille Claudel, Rodin), and also a department of Relief Plans and a cabinet of drawings rich in 4 000 leaves, complete this collection.
But the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille also has a very diverse cultural programme covering the fields of literature, theatre, music, dance, cinema, video…, and a library, educational workshops and an auditorium.
The temporary exhibitions organized by the museum since 2005 also represent a contemporary aspect (Philippe de Champaigne, Goya – Les Caprices, Miroirs d’Orients, E.Motion graphique…).
Address
Place de la République, 18 bis rue de Valmy
59,000 Lille
Telephone number
03 20 06 78 00 – Fax. 03 20 06 78 15
Schedules
Monday from 2pm to 6pm.
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 6pm.
Closed on Tuesday, January 1st, May 1st, July 14th, 1st weekend of September (Lille sale), November 1st, and December 25th.
Metro line 1 stop Republic Beaux Arts
Bus: line 74 of the Transpole network, Liane 1 and Citadine.
Taxis: Lille station Place Richebé
Parking: Place de la République
Lille train stations are 10-15 minutes walk away.
Lesquin airport 20 minutes away
Access for people with reduced mobility via Boulevard de la Liberté.
