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French museum label quiz: prêt, don, dépôt and collection

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Understand French museum labels: prêt du musée du Louvre, don de, dépôt de l'État, legs, acquisition. Ten questions on who owns each object and how it arrived.

In short

At the bottom of a French museum label: Don de means a gift, Legs de a bequest (left in a will), Prêt de a temporary loan, Dépôt de a long-term deposit from another institution (often the State), and Achat or Acquisition a purchase.

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Visitors look at a landscape painting and bronze sculpture in a French museum.
Prêt, don and dépôt describe different ways art reaches a museum. Illustration: Atelier
A sample label
LineText
ArtistBerthe Morisot (1841–1895)
TitleJeune fille au jardin
Date and medium1883, huile sur toile
Credit lineDépôt du musée d'Orsay, 2012
NumberInv. D.2012.3.1
  1. Question 1No account needed
    Don de Mme Lefèvre, 1998 means…

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Mrs Lefèvre gave it to the museum in 1998.. Un don is a gift: the museum owns it now.

  2. Question 2No account needed
    Prêt de la Fondation X means…

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    a temporary loan from the Foundation. Un prêt is temporary: it will go back.

  3. Question 3No account needed
    Legs de M. Durand means…

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    left to the museum in his will. Un legs is a bequest, left in a will.

  4. Question 4No account needed
    Dépôt de l'État means…

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    the State has placed it here long-term but still owns it. The State keeps ownership.

  5. Question 5No account needed
    Acquis en 2015 means…

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    bought / acquired in 2015. Acquérir is to acquire, usually to buy.

  6. Question 6No account needed
    Huile sur toile is…

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    oil on canvas. La toile is canvas; le bois would be wood.

  7. Question 7No account needed
    Œuvre restaurée avec le soutien de…

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    restored with the support of…. A sponsor of the restoration.

  8. Question 8No account needed
    Ne pas toucher les œuvres

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Do not touch the works.. Une œuvre is a work of art.

  9. Question 9No account needed
    Photographie sans flash autorisée

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Photos without flash allowed.. You may take photos, but no flash.

  10. Question 10No account needed
    Salle fermée temporairement

    Choose one answer.

    Answer and explanation

    Room temporarily closed.. Temporairement: temporarily.

Labels in French museums follow a fixed order: artist and dates, title in italics, date of the work, technique (huile sur toile, bronze, gravure), dimensions, and the credit line with the inventory number (Inv.). In older museums, Don or Legs lines often name the families who built the collections.

French national museums often share collections: a painting labelled Dépôt du musée du Louvre in a regional museum still belongs to the Louvre. Exposition temporaire means a temporary exhibition, and collections permanentes the permanent collection, usually cheaper or free.

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