The Museum of Fine Arts Bordeaux is one of the largest museums in France and was established in 1801 by painter Pierre Lacour. The paintings, sculptures and drawings on display represent European art through the various periods of history. The art is divided into Renaissance, 15^th-16^th   century Renaissance art, 17^th century Caravaggesque painting, 17^th century Flemish art, 17^th century Dutch art, 17^th-18^th century Italian art, 17^th-18^th century French art, 18^th century English, German and Flemish art and finally 19^th century work.

The south wing exhibition starts with Hans Clot’s Virgin of Pity Surrounded by Saints (1469) and finishes with Pierre-Narcisse Guerin. The north wing exhibition includes Guillon-Lethiere’s Saint Louis Visiting Plague Victims on the Plains of Carthage and continues in to the 19^th century art movements. There are navy scenes by Gudin and Isabey; landscapes by Corot, Boudin and Diaz de la Pena; animal paintings by Princeteau and Bonheur and portraits by Couture, Fantin-Latour, Morisot and Carolus-Duran. There are works by cubist artists including Lhote and abstract art as well as paintings by Matisse, Picasso, Bissiere and Dorignac. Among the highlights is Martyrdom of Saint Georges by Peter Paul Rubens. Other painters represented in the museum are van Dyck, Renoir, Jan Brueghel the Younger, Titian, Delacroix and Pittoni. The permanent collection is displayed in the Musee des Beaux-arts (20 Cours d’Albret) and the temporary exhibitions are displayed in the Galerie des Beaux-Arts (Place du Colonel Reynal).