Musée Atger, University art museum in Montpellier, France

Musée Atger occupies a wing of the 14th-century Collège de St-Benoît, part of the medical faculty library at the University of Montpellier. Its rooms hold about 1,000 drawings and 5,000 prints by French, Italian and Flemish masters, displayed in wooden cases with glass tops and on dark wooden tables under a brass chandelier.

The museum traces its origin to Xavier Atger (1758–1833), a civil servant and art collector who gave his collection to the Montpellier medical faculty between 1813 and 1832, so that medical students could study art and practise anatomical drawing, then part of their training. It occupies a wing of the 14th-century Collège de St-Benoît and is the oldest museum in Montpellier. In 2017 a gift of 81 drawings by the Montpellier artist Colette Richarme (1904–1991) added contemporary works.

The museum bears the name of Xavier Atger (1758–1833), a civil servant and art collector who gave his collection to the Montpellier medical faculty between 1813 and 1832, not to the city. He intended it to give medical students access to art and practice in anatomical drawing, then part of their training.

The museum occupies a wing of the 14th-century Collège de St-Benoît, part of the Montpellier Faculty of Medicine library. Enter through the faculty library building; the rooms are reached via the main university building. The display cases line the walls of a single hall, so the visit follows one route past the drawings and prints.

The museum holds one of France's largest collections of old drawings yet remains often overlooked because it is hidden within university spaces. This secluded location has made it a find for art lovers seeking to avoid larger tourist museums.