Lecture: Musée Georges Labit in Toulouse with Marie-Pierre Chaumet
Lecture (French) by Marie-Pierre Chaumet, Musée Georges Labit, translation by Karla Jauregui In cooperation with the Kurpfälzisches Museum, this year the Montpellier House is presenting the Musée Georges Labit in Toulouse as part of its series of lectures on museums in Occitania.
Georges Labit (1862 – 1899) was a wealthy merchant from Toulouse in search of art and everyday objects that bear witness to people’s way of life.
He mainly explored Japan, China and Southeast Asia.
In 1893, he opened a museum built in a neo-Moorish style.
The museum became a municipal museum in 1912.
Over the following decades, collections were added to the museum, strengthening its importance for Asian art and culture.
By the middle of the 20th century, it was the third largest museum of Asian art in France.
After studying art history and history in Toulouse, Marie-Pierre Chaumet initially worked at the Musée des Augustins, Toulouse’s most important art museum, alongside various other assignments.
Until her appointment as curator of the Musée Georges Labit in 2006, she worked as an art educator in the many museums in the city of Toulouse.