Musée des Moulages

The Musée des Moulages fills its halls with white plaster casts of sculptures, mostly pulled from the classical era. This collection exists because university students in the nineteenth century lacked the money to travel to Italy or Greece to study original marbles. By reproducing the ancient world in plaster, the faculty brought the history of art directly into the classroom. You see a copy of the Laocoön group standing beside fragments of Roman busts, all held in a space dedicated to careful study.