I have come here to work for several years after set my foot firmly in France and even before visiting from the USA. It is my eternal Paris never far from my mind, I am again lucky to have found me a picture in my laberynth of cd rom vaults to show it in my blog for you and me. Therefore, this is my take on the musée de la Vie romantiqueof Paris !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The musée de la Vie romantique or Museum of Romantic Life is located in the Nouvelle Athènes quartier or neighborhood of the 9éme district or arrondissement of Paris. It is housed at 16 rue Chaptal, in the Hôtel Scheffer-Renan, the former home of the Dutch-born painter Ary Scheffer and a hub of Romantic inspiration during the first half of the 19C. On the ground floor of the pavilion, built in 1830, the museum displays the mementos of the novelist George Sand, who, as a neighbor, frequently visited the painter. The salons recreate her lifestyle with paintings, drawings, sculptures, furniture, jewelry, and decorative objects from her home in Nohant, bequeathed in 1928, with usufruct, to the City of Paris by her granddaughter, Aurore Lauth-Sand. Upstairs, the rooms evoke the memory of Ary Scheffer and his contemporaries , including the philosopher Ernest Renan, who became his nephew by marriage. The Museums of the City of Paris have been managed by the public administrative institution Paris Musées since January 1, 2013.
The former home of the painter Ary Scheffer , who lived there from 1830 until his death in 1858, remained the private property of his female descendants until 1982. The painter’s daughter, Cornelia Scheffer, wife of the surgeon René Marjolin, having no children, bequeathed the property to her great-niece, Noémi. She was the granddaughter of the painter Henry Scheffer and the daughter of Cornélie, who herself had married the writer and philosopher Ernest Renan. After her marriage to Jean Psichari, Noémi Renan raised their four children in this house, including the youngest, Corrie, who later moved there with her husband, the composer Robert Siohan, whom she had married in 1921. Corrie Siohan, in agreement with her older sister Henriette Psichari, who was the wife of the physician and psychiatrist Gabriel Revault d’Allonnes decided, having no children of her own, to entrust the « l’enclos Chaptal » or Chaptal enclosure to the French State in 1956 so that it would become an inalienable heritage site. After Corrie Siohan’s death, the first museum, known as the “Renan-Scheffer” museum, opened in 1983, under the auspices of the City of Paris and the Carnavalet Museum. This exceptional place became the Museum of Romantic Life in 1987, following a major renovation in the 19C style. Thus, today, one can experience the preserved atmosphere of the bourgeois salons of Nouvelle Athènes in the 19C, where numerous painters, as well as writers, chroniclers, politicians, and musicians, gathered. The Friends of the Museum Society was founded in 1996.
I will condense what’s inside with the help of the links below and wikipedia, The ground-floor salons display numerous pieces of furniture, paintings, drawings and sculptures, objets d’art, jewelry, and memorabilia that belonged to George Sand, including major canvases by: Auguste Charpentier, Maurice Quentin de La Tour, Eugène Delacroix . And, more broadly, sculptures and objets d’art from the Romantic period: Auguste Clésinger , Auguste Clésinger, Laurent Delvaux ; Jean-Auguste Barre; Jacques-Jean Barre, known as Barre père (father), David d’Angers ; Émilien de Nieuwerkerke; Raymond Gayrard, James Pradier, Antoine Baron, Works on paper, notably signed by: Luigi Calamatta ;Eugène Delacroix ;Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres ,Pierre-Joseph Redouté
George Sand ,Maurice Sand (son); Eugène Devéria; Antonin Moine, Carl Hummel,
Ary Scheffer, the master of the house. Oils on canvas severaln, 1858, Paintings by his contemporaries: Charles Octave Blanchard ;François Bouchot :François Debon ;Charles Durupt ;Louis Hersent ,Arie Johannes Lamme ;Auguste Legras ;Thomas Phillips ;Camille Roqueplan ;Auguste Bartholdi ; Lorenzo Bartolini ;Théophile Bra ;Jules Cavelier; Antoine Laurent Dantan, known as the Elder ;Paul Dubois ;Jean-Jacques Feuchère ; Prosper Bressant ; Jean-François-Théodore Gechter:; Antonin Moine ; James Pradier ;Christian Daniel Rauch, Ary Scheffer ;Vincenzo Vela , Works of art François-Désiré Froment-Meurice. Around Ernest Renan: Henry Scheffer ;Léopold Bernstamm ;René de Saint-Marceaux and various mementos from the writer’s family.
The Rue Chaptal is as above ,and it begins at 1 Rue Pierre-Fontaine and ends at 66 Rue Blanche. It is one-way, running east-west. It is served by metro line 2, at the Blanche and Pigalle stations, and by line 12 at the Pigalle station . It is named after the French scientist, chemist, and politician Jean-Antoine Chaptal, who also owned the land. Notable buildings here are at No. 9: In 1857, the art dealer Adolphe Goupil bought land at this address and had a luxurious private mansion built there, including workshops, a printing press, and an exhibition hall. It was the headquarters of the Goupil & Cie company from 1860 to 1890. Vincent van Gogh worked there from May 1875 to April 1876. No. 10: A remarkable effigy of Beethoven; The musician is surrounded by two muses, one playing the lyre and the other the violin. No. 11 bis: the Ginsburg family’s apartment from 1932 to 1947. This is where Serge Gainsbourg grew up, and he went to the nursery school located just across the street. No. 16: The Hôtel Scheffer-Renan was the home of the Dutch-born painter Ary Scheffer and has housed the Museum of Romantic Life since 1987 (see above). No. 20: The Cité Chaptal, which successively housed the Parisian studio of the Orientalist painter Georges Rochegrosse, then the Grand Guignol, and is now the International Visual Theatre. No. 22: La Nouvelle Athènes art gallery, specializing in 19C painting and drawing. No. 26: The Louise Walser-Gaillard Library (formerly Chaptal), named after a deaf activist from the Belle Époque. The name was changed in October 2019. Also located here is the Pauline-García-Viardot Garden, inaugurated in 2021. No. 33: The Tristan de Quelen art gallery, specializing in Old Master paintings.
The official Paris City museums: https://www.parismusees.paris.fr/en/les-musees-de-la-ville-de-paris
The Paris tourist office on the Musée de la Vie Romantique: https://parisjetaime.com/eng/culture/musee-de-la-vie-romantique-p3580
The Paris tourist office on the 9éme arrondissement de Paris : https://parisjetaime.com/eng/article/explore-paris-s-9th-arrondissement-a828
There you go folks, a work of art, a wonderful place to visit my beautiful eternal Paris. It will be worth your time and effort, me think, I shall return, eventually,sublime, worth the effort . Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Musée de la Vie Romantique of Paris !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 