Subleyras Gallery

Built in 1877, the gallery was intended to link the Galerie des Colonnes with the north side of the municipal library, and formerly housed the Fages reserve library, named after a Montpellier doctor, donor of some 10,000 books on natural science, ethnology and archaeology. Today, the gallery houses a collection of works by French artists (Subleyras, Vernet, Van Loo) and painters of the northern European schools (Bloemen and Dietrich), many of whom travelled to Italy in the first half of the 18th century. Italian painters represented here include Panini, Locatelli and Guardi. The works illustrate the importance of Italy during this period as a catalyst for the spread of artistic influences between schools.