Musée des Beaux-Arts (Fine Arts Museum), Tours (must see)

Two bizarre anomalies will greet a visitor to the Museum of Fine Arts. First, squarely in front of the museum is an enormous cedar. The size and reputed age of the tree are astounding. It is said to have been planted by Napoleon. That would put its age at about 200 years.

The second jarring showpiece is a stuffed elephant. It stands, peering ahead in a bewildered way. It was a show elephant of Barnum & Bailey Circus. While visiting Tours in 1902, the elephant went out of control and was killed. His name was "Fritz". Fritz may have been in musth (raised testosterone levels), a dangerous time with male elephants.

Since 1910 the museum has been located in the former archbishop's palace. It is close to the Cathedral of Saint Gatien. The museum has more than 12,000 works of art in its collection, but only 1,000 are on display.

The museum has two paintings by Andrea Mantegna from the predella of the altarpiece of San Zeno of Verona. Other masterpieces include paintings by Rubens, Rembrandt, Le Sueur, and Philippe de Champaigne. Exhibited in rooms filled with period furniture, they evoke the ambiance of the 18th century.

Paintings of the 19th century are represented in the schools of art, including neoclassical, romantic, orientalism (Chasseriau, Delacroix), realism (Bastien-Lepage, Cazin, Gervex) impressionism, and symbolism (Monet, Degas, Henri Martin, Le Sidaner). Twentieth-century artists are Asse, Calder, Davidson, Debre, Denis, and Zao Wouki.