Meilleurs voeux

Before Christmas I read online that Les Abbatoirs and le Chateau d’Eau both in Toulouse were putting on a combined exhibition in Les Abbatoirs of their collections of photos showing the progression of photography. I immediately jotted down the dates as we both love looking at photos and I already hankered to visit the nearby Musee Bemberg which reopened last summer. Himself had announced he wasn’t keen about the Bemberg and complained that Toulouse is a boring drive now he’s not behind the wheel. Of course, that was a challenge I wasn’t going to ignore. So I set about devising a plan that would work for both of us, bien sur.

So, tomorrow we are off to Toulouse with tickets for Les Abbatoirs and a hotel booking close by. Thursday morning I have tickets for the Musee Bemberg which the other half can use or refuse. Maybe he can sit himself in a cafe and people watch while I immerse myself in the collection, concentrating on the paintings. I’m hoping that spreading the visit over two days with some good meals thrown in will make up for the journey boredom. Anyway, our youngest son gave his dad some ear buds last Christmas so he can plug himself into a podcast to keep his mind off my driving!

I’ve written before about Les Abbatoirs and le Chateau d’Eau, two interesting exhibition spaces in buildings originally created for quite different purposes. The Musee Bemberg is more traditional in as much as it is in a grand renaissance mansion called the Hotel d’Assezat now housing the collection of Georges Bemberg, a twentieth century Argentinian collector. The house was built in the 1560s by Nicolas Bachelier, a Toulousain architect, for Pierre Assezat, a woad merchant. Woad, or pastel as it is called in French, was a major trade all over Occitanie as we discovered years ago on a visit to Albi.

The building was bequeathed to the city of Toulouse on the death of its last owner, Theodore Ozenne, in 1895 to be used for ‘hosting learned societies’

In 1915 Georges Bemberg was born in Argentina into a family of German industrialists. He grew up between Buenos Aires and Paris and worked as a writer and playwright after graduating from Harvard. One of his plays, ‘Someone to talk to’, had a brief run in the West End of London in the 1950s. In 1995, he decided, quite randomly if an article I read is to be believed, to gift his collection to the city of Toulouse for 99 years when he saw it was to be housed in the Hotel d’Assezat. He died in 2011 but the collection can still make acquisitions guided by his somewhat eclectic tastes.

When the Musee opened last year there was a flurry of articles on the French3 TV lunchtime news which was what piqued my interest, especially when I saw the paintings, particularly the collection of the 30 plus Bonnards.

But first, the photos! We had a sunny and dry drive south which was unexpected as the forecast was for showers. Parking was easier than last time so fewer stairs to climb. After choosing and booking our hotel I had discovered their carpark was closed for a month for improvements so, leaving our bags in the car for collecting later, we went to find lunch. There was beautiful mimosa outside the Halle as we headed to ‘our’ bistro.

Two courses later (and a large glass of Chardonnay as I wasn’t driving again that day!) we ambled along to the Abbatoirs. Walking into the first exhibition space we were greeted by images of several naked bodies. Always interesting how the curators plan these things! As usual we wandered off in different directions..

Here are a few favourites…

This must be a pig to untangle if stored badly!

Someone who only took up photography in his retirement..

…our namesake! The peacock

Jean Dieuzaide…a print of his has hung in our little house for years.

Quite a lot of black and white which pleased himself although it was a colour image that brought me up short.

Three boys with guns…I was not surprised it was taken in Montana, USA.

On the lower level was a lively exhibition gathered together by one half of a pair of local rappers who go by the names of Big Flo and Oli.. this was Oli!

Looking for ‘Mr McGregor ‘ I came across ‘Marilyn’…

I was reminded how long ago it has been since I went to my first and only Warhol exhibition in the Tate when there was just the one Tate gallery.

We eventually found each other and decided not to queue up for a photo booth image to add to the collection on the nearby walls. A gentle stroll back to our hotel collecting our bags from the car on the way and then a little snooze before going out to find dinner..

St Cyprien in the evening becomes student central with lots of bars and fast food restaurants whose terraces are packed with young people oblivious to the cold night air! We didn’t fancy tacos or burgers or questionable tapas so ended up back at an Italian restaurant we spurned earlier as its menu displayed outside looked a bit heavier than we wanted. However, once inside it transpired they did pizza which was fine. Friendly young staff, good wine list and a cosy atmosphere only three minutes from our hotel.. great.

Opening the curtains the next morning it was clear that it had rained overnight. Oh, well, we had brought a brolly! After breakfast and checking out we went back to the car to dump our bags and then walked towards the river.

I wasn’t quite sure where the Musee was, just somewhere on the left after crossing la Garonne. In fact it was really easy as it was pretty obvious and not tucked away as I had thought after looking on Google maps!

The glory that is the renaissance courtyard is hidden behind a plain wall and approached through an arch.

Being elderly now, we took a breather on a bench with a lovely view

There was a very thorough security check by the lady by the entrance. Maybe because we were the only apparent visitors? Once inside it was all light wood and white walls. Our tickets were read by a scanner on a fancy gate and we were finally in. I had asked the two young chaps on the desk where we should go to find the Bonnards and were told the second floor.

The exhibition spaces are beautiful. Light and airy with plenty of room to move back for a better look which is so often absent. It helped that we had the place to ourselves! Lou settled himself on an available bench and waved me away to enjoy myself…which I did.

I was surprised that I wasn’t as smitten by the Bonnards as I expected to be. They are hung in chronological order so it was interesting to see his artistic progression. A farmyard was my favourite. The saddest was a self portrait painted not long before he died.

There were other lovely surprises tucked away in lower lit alcoves, a Renoir, a Degas and a Picasso amongst a few others including a Berthe Morisot. So lovely to see a woman painter amongst the chaps!

I had started my tour in salle 12 with the Bonnards but that is actually the last room according to the ‘sens du visite’ so I ended up doing the tour in reverse but clear introductions to each room avoided any confusion. This painting by Eugene Boudin entitled ‘Crinolines on the beach’ amused me as you can really feel the blustery day discombobulating the ladies as they grabbed their skirts. There is even an overturned chair as witness to the strength of the wind.

This Utrillo reminded me of one that hung over our staircase in our last UK home for many years, a print gifted to me by an artistic aunt.

I caught sight of this one across the room (lots of space as I said) and I loved how the light shone out of it. It must be a favourite already as it is reproduced in the card collection and in several other items in the museum shop. The painter was unknown to me but I have since looked him up. Paul Signac,a Neo-Impressionist painter, he worked with Georges Seurat helping to develop pointillism which I did recognise in this painting called ‘Le clocher de Saint-Tropez’

I had to pause in front of Dulwich college by Camille Pisarro. Growing up on the north Kent border, as it was back then, our almost weekly drive to visit our grandparents in north London always took us through the toll road there. Google tells me it still exists and a toll is paid, I have no recollection of that just that it was a green and leafy road in the middle of an urban landscape.

Luckily for me no attendant jumped out to tell me not to take photos and there was nothing on my programme forbidding it either.

Collecting Mr McGregor from his bench we descended to the first floor which holds all the earlier paintings but this time hanging in rooms embellished with pieces of furniture loaded with object d’art etc. On the second floor there had been a few sculptures contemporary to the paintings. I was not so keen on the older paintings although some interior scenes were fun. I found a stunning marquetry cupboard and some enormous blue and white platters…sneaky photo time!

At the far end of these rooms I found several Canelettos.

It was time to go and find the bored one. Before leaving I bought the obligatory postcard and, happily, they had the one I wanted. So often my favourites never make it to the card section of the shop.

We found coffee in the brasserie des arts, a cafe attached to the hotel of the same name and overlooking the river.

As we walked back we discussed whether to have lunch or go home, grabbing a sandwich on route. The latter was decided on but I did stop to buy a glorious bunch of mimosa to take back with us.

ps please excuse wobbly gallery photos, never easy!

pps the Foundation Bemberg, Toulouse won the Apollo magazine ‘museum opening of the year’ award in 2024. I found the magazine’s article about the award very informative.