The Hôtel-Carnavalet Museum is the Parisian municipal museum dedicated to the history of Paris from the city's origins to the present day. Located in the historic Marais district, the Carnavalet Museum opened in 1880 and occupies two private mansions from the 16th (Hôtel Carnavalet) and 17th centuries (Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau).
The Hôtel-Carnavalet Museum: two hotels for one museum
The Hôtel Carnavalet has had a dozen owners since it was built between 1548 and 1560, including François de Kernevenoy, known as de Carnavalet (1537-1571), of Breton origin. Hence the name of the museum.
But the Musée Hôtel-Carnavalet is also housed in the neighboring Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau, built in a more sober style by the architect Pierre Bullet in the 1690's. It has an exceptional architectural feature with its grand staircase whose sumptuous cast iron handrail, molded and chiseled - not wrought iron - is a technical feat never repeated before in the 19th century. It was completed renovation and connected by a footbridge to the Hotel Carnavalet only in 1989.
The Hôtel Carnavalet Museum after the renovation (2016 to 2021)
Its visitable spaces in the two hotels represent an area of 3,900 m2 or a route of 1.5 km. In addition, there are temporary exhibition spaces (360 m2). 3,800 works and objects are on display in the permanent exhibition area. The total number of objects belonging to the museum is 610,000.
The museum's own collections and their presentation
The collections complement each other to form a unique history and memory of Paris. The spirit of the place favors a visit rich in experiences and emotions.
In this remarkable architectural setting, you will discover the museum's rich collections: Gallo-Roman and medieval archaeological collections, souvenirs of the French Revolution, paintings, sculptures, furniture and art objects. One of the highlights of the tour is also the visit of the orangery, entirely restored in 2000, now dedicated to hosting cultural, scientific and collaborative events.
Its collections relating to the French Revolution are renowned, and the collections of graphic art and coins and medals are among the most important and remarkable in France.
The Musée Hôtel-Carnavalet's own collections include
- 2,800 paintings
- 2,000 sculptures
- 300,000 prints
- 150,000 photographs
- 800 pieces of furniture
- 50,000 coins
- 200 signs
It should also be noted that among the 140 exhibition rooms, 34 are rooms with decorations, mainly from the 17th and 18th centuries. These rooms, sometimes called "period rooms", are one of the most appreciated features of the museum.
It is in the "Hôtel Le Peletier" part of the museum that some of the museum's famous rooms are located: the ballroom of the Hôtel de Wendel, decorated in 1924-1925 by the Spanish artist José-Maria Sert, the small salon of the Café de Paris decorated by Henri Sauvage (1899), and the bijouterie Fouquet shop, the work of the famous Czech-Slovak artist Alfons Mucha (1901).
It is also here that Marcel Proust's bedroom was installed as well as the portrait of Juliette Récamier by François Gérard (1805). This painting is considered since the 19th century, rightly or wrongly, as the most beautiful of the Hôtel-Carnavalet Museum.
While waiting for the opening of the study and research center (planned for 2022), which will allow the public to consult several hundred thousand works and objects, the collections that are not presented in the permanent exhibition are widely accessible digitally on the collections portal, which is regularly updated.
Distribution of the collections: the sections of the Hôtel-Carnavalet Museum
- Prehistory (Paris before Paris) and Antiquity (the Gallic tribe of Parisii and the Gallo-Romans).
Presented since 2000 in the orangery of the Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau, and since 2021 in the basement of the Hôtel Carnavalet, these archaeological collections of prehistory, Antiquity and the early Middle Ages in Paris represent a tiny part of the rich collections kept in the museum's reserves.
- Paris in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance
- Paris in the 17th and 18th centuries. Particularly noteworthy are the many objects related to the writer Madame de Sévigné. She lived in the Hôtel Carnavalet from 1664 to 1694.
- French Revolution. The Carnavalet Museum - History of Paris has a very large collection on the French Revolution of 1789.
- Paris from the 19th to the 21st century
The archaeological crypt of the Ile de la Cité
Built in 1980, the crypt is attached to the Carnavalet Museum - History of Paris since 2000. It presents the archaeological remains discovered in successive layers from antiquity to the 19th century.
These discoveries were made during excavations conducted from 1965 to 1972 by archaeologist Michel Fleury under the square of Notre-Dame de Paris, during the construction of a parking lot
Large exhibitions are also regularly organized.
The Hôtel-Carnavalet Museum organizes rich exhibitions on various themes in which it is a specialist: memories of the French Revolution, historical paintings, sculptures, furniture and decorations from the 17th and 18th centuries, art objects, prints, etc.
As a museum of Paris history, the Carnavalet Museum also preserves and exhibits collections related to the history of art and the history of France.
The evolution of the Hôtel-Carnavalet Museum
Finally, the emphasis has been placed on opening up to the contemporary period (presentation of works from the 20th and 21st centuries), modernizing the media (with nearly 150 multi and transmedia contents), and making the museum accessible to all audiences (10% of the works are presented at child height).
Add a review