Subscriber content

"Cathars". Toulouse in the Crusade

All the versions of this article: English , français

«Cathares». Toulouse dans la Croisade

Toulouse, Musée Saint-Raymond and Couvent des Jacobins, from 5 April 2024 to 5 January 2025

How do you create a good history exhibition? The recipe may seem simple, but first you need a good subject, if possible one that will appeal to a broad public, perhaps with a touch of polemic, but above all a good dose of education to make an often scholarly, even erudite subject intelligible to as many visitors as possible. The Musée Saint-Raymond, in association with the Couvent des Jacobins in Toulouse, has succeeded in doing just that, with an exemplary exhibition that has been a resounding success given the difficulty of the subject, which can easily be described as inflammable. While the Musée Carnavalet refuses to talk about the "Terror" in its exhibition "Paris 1793-1794. A revolutionary year", it is the use of inverted commas that is most appealing to the many visitors [1] of the Toulouse event, which sets out to unravel - to deconstruct, some would no doubt say - a veritable historical myth patiently exploited by regionalist movements in the 19th century and by tourist brochures right up to the present day!


1. Jean-Paul Laurens (1838-1921)
The Languedoc Agitator, 1887
Oil on canvas - 149 x 115.5 cm
Toulouse, Musée des Augustins
Photo: Musée des Augustins
See the image in its page

The way the exhibition is divided between the two sites in the Pink City has its qualities - and its faults, as we shall come back to - but in the end it provides an effective way of looking at both the origins of a documented historical episode, the Crusade against the Albigensians, and the account of it that was drawn up by 19th-century historians and writers. As the exhibition explains, the memory of the Occitan "heretics" was revived in the modern era and became a symbol of political struggle. The painting (ill. 1) by Jean-Paul Laurens tells no different story: attached to his Languedoc roots, he used the figure of Bernard Délicieux confronting the Inquisitors to spread his own anti-clerical convictions. While it’s best to start your visit at the…

To access this content, you must subscribe to The Art Tribune. The advantages and conditions of this subscription, which will also allow you to support The Art Tribune, are described on the subscription page. If you would like to test the subscription, you can subscribe for one month (at €8) and if you don’t like it, you can send us an e-mail asking us to unsubscribe you (at least ten days before the next direct debit).

If you are already a subscriber, sign in using this form.

Your comments

In order to be able to discuss articles and read the contributions of other subscribers, you must subscribe to The Art Tribune. The advantages and conditions of this subscription, which will also allow you to support The Art Tribune, are described on the subscription page.

If you are already a subscriber, sign in.