Musée de la Vie romantique


The Musée de la Vie romantique stands at the foot of Montmartre hill in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, 16 rue Chaptal, Paris, France in an 1830 hôtel particulier facing two twin-studios, a greenhouse, a small garden, and a paved courtyard. The museum is open daily except Monday. Permanent collections are free. An admission fee is charged for temporary exhibitions. The nearest métro stations are Pigalle, Blanche, Saint-Georges, and Liège.
The Musée de la Vie romantique is one of the 14 City of Paris Museums that have been incorporated since January 1, 2013 in the public institution Paris Musées.

Property

The main pavilion, built in 1830, was the Paris base of the Dutch-born painter Ary Scheffer, one of the prominent artists of the time, close to King Louis-Philippe and his family. For decades, Scheffer and his daughter hosted Friday-evening salons, among the most famous in La Nouvelle Athènes. George Sand used to come as a neighbour with Frédéric Chopin, meeting Eugène Delacroix, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, Alphonse de Lamartine, Franz Liszt, Gioacchino Rossini and singer Pauline Viardot. Later in the century, Charles Dickens, Ivan Turgueniev, and Charles Gounod attended regularly.

Museum

The property remained in private hands and passed by descent until 1982 when it became a museum, under the name of "Musée Renan-Scheffer". It is one of the City of Paris' three literary museums, along with the Maison de Balzac and the Maison de Victor Hugo.
After an extensive renovation conducted by Jacques Garcia under the direction of Anne-Marie de Brem, it reopened in 1987 as "Musée de la Vie romantique". Daniel Marchesseau, conservateur général du Patrimoine, was appointed director in November 1998. For 13 years, he developed an ambitious program of exhibitions and acquisitions. Attendance has widely grown, from 18.000 visitors a year to 145.000 in 2010. He retired in winter 2013. His successor, Jérôme Farigoule, was appointed in September 2013.

Collections

The Museum displays on the first floor numerous mementos of the romantic literary figure George Sand, including family portraits, household possessions, pieces of jewelry and memorabilia including plaster casts by Clésinger of the writer's sensuous right arm and Chopin's delicate left hand, plus a number of her own unique and rare watercolours called "dendrites".
On the second floor, one can admire a number of Romantic canvases, sculptures and objets d'art.
The Museum also displays several portraits and material related to the famous scholar and writer Ernest Renan who had married Ary Scheffer's niece.

Exhibitions and catalogues

1984
1985
1986
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
  • French Romantic Jewelry , by Daniel Marchesseau. Contributions by Evelyne Possémé, Daniel Marchesseau, Isabelle Julia, Marie-Noëlle de Grandry, Diana Scarisbrick, Claudette Joannis & Pauline de Ayala.
  • Sam Szafran, by Daniel Marchesseau, with an essay by Michel Le Bris.
2001
2002
2003
2004
  • Impressionism and the Rouart Family, by Solange Thierry. Contributions by Daniel Marchesseau, Jean-Dominique Rey, Françoise Heilbrun, Anne Distel, Louis-Antoine Prat, Agathe Valéry-Rouart, Bertrand Marchal, Catherine de Bourgoing, Gabriel Rouart, Sophie Monneret, Dominique Bona, François Chapon & Jean-Marie Rouart.
  • George Sand by Jérôme Godeau. Contributions by Diane de Margerie, Yves Gagneux, Françoise Heilbrun, Isabelle Leroy-Jay Lemaistre, Claude Samuel, Arlette Sérullaz, Vincent Pomarède, Nicole Savy & Martine Reid.
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012