The Musée de la Vie romantique, within the former residence and studios of the Dutch-French painter Ary Scheffer (1795-1858), reopens this month after a €3.8m renovation funded by town of Paris and personal donors who contributed to a fundraising marketing campaign.
The home was in-built 1830, then rented by Scheffer, who prolonged it. In 1956, it was transferred to the French state and opened as a museum in 1982, initially as an annex of the Musée Carnavalet. It welcomed 230,000 guests in 2023 earlier than closing for the refit the next 12 months.
The refurbishment, carried out by Basalt Structure, centered on the timber framework, roof and façades, restored utilizing lime in accordance with conventional Nineteenth-century strategies. Joinery and window frames have been additionally restored. The inexperienced shutters—repainted in varied colors through the years—have been returned to their unique beige-brown. Gaëlle Rio, the museum’s director, says they now match the best way Arie Johannes Lamme, Scheffer’s cousin, depicted them in Ary Scheffer at Work within the Giant Studio at His Home, Rue Chaptal in Paris, a portray held by the Dordrechts Museum within the Netherlands.
The museum constructing is depicted in Arie Johannes Lamme’s Ary Scheffer at Work within the Giant Studio at His Home, Rue Chaptal in Paris © Paris Musées/Musée de la Vie Romantique
Below the steering of Àkiko design studio, the exhibition has additionally been absolutely renewed. Of round 2,340 works within the assortment, 300 will likely be on show, together with 70 just lately restored works—amongst them, Scheffer’s Faust in his Studio (1831).
A movie concerning the website’s historical past greets guests within the former reception space, whereas the ticket workplace, store and cloakroom have been introduced collectively into former workspaces within the courtyard. Entry has been improved by way of the resurfacing of pathways, and a brand new path connects the backyard to the restaurant within the museum’s greenhouse. A brand new route by way of the museum options multimedia parts—music, readings, soundscapes and digital assets—that invite a poetic immersion within the Romantic interval.
The bottom flooring is devoted to “Romantic life”, exploring Scheffer’s inventive setting and his circle of distinguished pals, together with the composer Frédéric Chopin, the singer Pauline Viardot and the painter Eugène Delacroix. A complete room is dedicated to the novelist George Sand.
The second flooring addresses 4 important themes of Romanticism: literature, the incredible, nature and panorama, and emotion. “Romantic artists place feelings on the coronary heart of their artwork—each their very own and people of their topics—whether or not passionate love or non secular devotion,” Rio says, pointing to a just lately acquired, undated portray of a praying girl by Hendrik Scheffer, Ary’s brother. One other key emotion is a way of the elegant, usually related to nature. One portray on show by Ary Scheffer, The Tempest (round 1820), is an outline of characters struck with concern as waves crash towards the rocks.
The inaugural momentary exhibition, positioned in a two-storey, multi-purpose house outdoors the primary constructing, will likely be dedicated to skyscapes by Paul Huet (1803-69), a detailed affiliate of Scheffer usually described as a pre-Impressionist. Impressed by the nice English masters reminiscent of Constable and Turner, Huet influenced a number of French painters, together with Camille Corot. His sky work will likely be proven alongside works by Delacroix, Paul Flandrin, Théodore Rousseau, Georges Michel, Eugène Isabey and Eugène Boudin. “Our momentary exhibitions resonate with our everlasting collections,” Rio says. “This one echoes the ‘Nature and Panorama’ part and invitations guests to pause and replicate. I get pleasure from highlighting a single artist whereas exploring a topic by way of their perspective.”
The museum is ready to reopen on 14 February. “In fact, Valentine’s Day is a chance to declare our love for the museum,” Rio says.
