Musée du Petit Palais

About

The Musée du Petit Palais in Avignon, in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, is a museum dedicated to medieval painting and sculpture and the first Renaissance, bringing together about 390 paintings and 600 sculptures, opened in 1976 in a contemporary cardinalry of the Popes' stay in the city and hence of the collections it showcases. A unique museum, since it is essentially based on painting before the second half of the 16th century, it nevertheless has one of the most important international collections of primitive Italians, with 326 paintings by more than 130 artists, and the largest in France with that of the Louvre Museum. The museum is located in the Petit Palais, a 14th-century residence of the archbishops of Avignon, thus named in opposition to the Popes' Palace located nearby in the historic centre of Avignon. The collections of primitive Italians are also associated with a collection of paintings and sculptures by the masters of the Avignon school.