Heritage collection

The old collection of the isdaT specialises in art. It corresponds to the former library of the Toulouse School of Fine Arts which brings together more than 3,000 works, covering fields as varied as that of architecture, sculpture and painting, but also that of the decorative arts, construction and travel. Particularly extensive in iconography, courses and workshops take place there throughout the year.

The period represented extends from the 16^th to the beginning of the 20th century. It reflects the teachers’ interest in the various artistic fields. Just like the history of teaching at the Toulouse School of Fine Arts, it is partly the books of professors and former students which make up the collection.

Database:

• Catalogue of the isdaT library: old and modern collections
• Catalogue of printed books from the old collection: Base Patrimoine du Catalog Collectif de France (CCFr / BNF)
• Catalogue of manuscripts from the old collection: CCFr-BNF
• Index of printers in the old collection catalogue.

Nearly fifty volumes from the old collection were digitised in 2022 and put online in 2024 by Gallica, the French digital library (BnF), via Rosalis, Toulouse’s digital library. Books on the decorative arts, architecture, sculpture and travel can be discovered on the Rosalis website.

In line with Rosalis’ policy of distributing images that have fallen into the public domain, they can be downloaded and used free of charge.

The isdaT art collection is an open collection, made up of more than 1,400 works. The collection includes paintings from internal and municipal competitions, as well as from competitions in Paris. They reflect the teaching provided at the Royal Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture from the 18^th century to the present day. Some works were acquired from the Salon des Artistes Méridionaux, from 1905 to 2017. In 2015, the architectural plans which were also acquired by competition were deposited in the municipal archives of Toulouse.

The collection continues to be enriched primarily with graphic works, through research workshops and the isdaT workshops.

Database:

• Artists in the collection
• Inventory of works: Micromuseum base, available for consultation on-site.

The isdaT archive collection has just been reported in the General Catalogue of Manuscripts (CGM) of the BNF. 46 boxes of paper archives, handwritten texts and photographs, nearly 1,300 files of artists (paper and digital), professors and students combined and approximately thirty registers form the body of this collection, spanning from the 18^th to the 21^st century. The archives document the artistic life of the School, from the Royal Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture to the isdaT.

The Toulouse municipal archives preserve a large part of the old isdaT archives, transferred between 1997 and 2015.

Database:

• Description of old archives: CGM / BNF 
• Student index: 1846-1960
• Student index: 1960-present 
• Faculty index: 1270-1950
• Faculty index: 1950-present.

The exhibitions in the Corridor (of the library) bring together the heritage collections, the modern and contemporary collection of the library, for a joint presentation of both the documents and works of the isdaT. Students, professors or speakers join forces with the Corridor to exhibit the productions resulting from workshops, courses or end-of-cycle research.

Exhibitions archives

• Couloir n°14 Natures II from April 17 to June 7, 2024
• Couloir n°13 Bananes : copies, variations from February 1^st to March 22, 2024
• Couloir n°12 Papiers perdus from October 18 to December 20, 2023
• Couloir n°11 Caro’s Toothbrush from June 14 to July 12, 2023
• Couloir n°10 Natures from March 8 to June 5, 2023
• Couloir n°9 Formes from December 1^st, 2022 to February 17, 2023
• Couloir n°8 Rémy Peyranne from September 9 to November 14, 2022
• Couloir n°7 Exhumation typographique from April 5 to June 30, 2022
• Couloir n°6 Où sont les femmes ? from January 11 to March 31, 2022
• Couloir n°5 Je livre, tu livres… Ils lisent. from November 3 to December 17, 2021
• Couloir n°4 Natures au jardin (frôler le désastre) from June 9 to October 29, 2021
• Couloir n°3 is killing baby birds from April 2 to June 4, 2021
• Couloir n°2 Peur bleue — Heures sombres to February 1^st to April 1^st, 2021
• Couloir n°1 Re-Sources from February 3 to April 10, 2020

Admission by appointment Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

Heritage collections
Anne Jourdain
+33 (0)5 31 47 12 32
anne.jourdain@isdat.fr