Drawings by a collector: two hundred years of the Musée Atger
Exhibition organized by the University Library of Medicine
Date: September 14 to October 31, 2013
Timetable:
Venue : the exhibition rooms of the Library of Medicine and the Atger Museum
Contact:biu-patrimoine-bumedecine@umontpellier.fr
Tel :04 34 43 35 80
Poster
Catalog
Dess(e)ins d'un collectionneur: les deux cents ans du musée Atger, 2013, 57 pages, €7
The exhibition "Dess(e)ins d'un collectionneur : les deux cents ans du Musée Atger" retraced the history of the Atger donation.
A Montpellier collector, Xavier Atger (1758-1833) wished to share his drawings and prints with his compatriots, particularly medical students. Academies, portraits and landscapes were intended to help them develop their aesthetic sense, relax their minds and exercise their powers of observation.
The exhibition took place in two locations in the Faculty of Medicine's historic building:
It began in the library's exhibition rooms (on the ground floor), devoted to Xavier Atger and the context of his donation, from 1813 to 1833, drawing on archival documents, albums and drawings. The collection was presented through the three great schools of French, Italian and Nordic art, as well as thematic trails (which continued upstairs).
Some 500 drawings were on display in the Musée Atger (on the second floor of the Faculty of Medicine), of which some 50 are highlighted in four sections:
1. Images of the body: representations of the body are an obvious link between art and medicine, and appear in many forms in the collection.
2. Portraits and caricatures: a fervent supporter of physiognomonic theories, Atger collected numerous portraits and caricatures designed to understand and illustrate human character.
3. Artists of the Midi: attached to his native region, Atger wanted to showcase the great and small masters of the Midi.
4. The trip to Italy: an essential stopover for all artists, Italy inspires not only with its models from Antiquity and the Renaissance, but also with its landscapes.
