The paintings department is the central attraction of Lyon’s Fine Arts Museum.
Visitors are treated to a comprehensive collection of Europe’s finest artists from the thirteenth century to the present day. At the museum, the painting collection surpasses all other galleries
and counts as one of Europe’s most important collections. It covers the whole of level 2.
We are glad to present more than 1 800 works of art, inviting the visitor to a journey through the history of painting from the fifteenth century to the present day, with a major presence of nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Europe’s schools of artistic expression are represented by major collections from France, Italy, Flanders and Holland which include pieces by Tintoret, Pérugin, Véronèse, Rembrandt, Rubens and Jordaens. There are also exceptional works from Germany and Spain. Throughout the galleries, major pieces are on show, following the evolution of techniques, styles and themes. The museum also presents works by the finest Lyonnais painters from the nineteenth century which illustrate the museum’s link to Lyon’s former silk industry, including a collection of pieces featuring flowers which were painted to serve as models for silk motif designers. The museum’s collections are regularly enriched with masterpieces thanks to donations, legacies and acquisitions. Notable examples over the last few years include works by Nicolas Poussin La Fuite en Egypte, Pierre Soulages, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres and Jean-Honoré Fragonard, demonstrating the commitment of the Club du musée Saint-Pierre, the Cercle Poussin, local and regional authorities and private indivuals supporting the museum.