Goya Museum, Art museum in Castres, France.
The Goya Museum occupies a former Bishop's Palace and displays Spanish art across more than 20 exhibition rooms. The building dates to the 17th century and was designed by the architect who created the Palace of Versailles.
The museum was founded in 1840 and is housed in a palace built in 1675. Its collection expanded through major donations of artworks that shaped the institution's focus on Spanish art.
The museum has been devoted to Hispanic art since 1947, when curator Gaston Poulain renamed it after Goya and obtained long-term loans from the Louvre. Its core came from the Briguiboul family, whose 1893 bequest brought three Goya paintings and his engravings to Castres. The four complete Goya print series, including the Caprichos and the Disasters of War, are shown alongside works by Velázquez, El Greco and Picasso.
The museum reopened on 15 April 2023 after a full refurbishment, with 23 rooms covering 1,500 m² on the first floor of the former bishop's palace, reached by the grand staircase in the peristyle. A separate exhibition hall occupies the adjoining former abbey of Les Cèdres. The palace gardens, laid out by André Le Nôtre, can be visited alongside the galleries.
The museum holds the largest collection of Spanish artworks in France, including complete series of Goya prints. These prints feature satirical and critical works that represent an important chapter in European art history.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,882 contributors worldwide.
