Tag Archives: Paris Museums

Bourse de Commerce Paris

Five Cool Contemporary Art Centres in Paris

Private art galleries, especially those in the Upper Marais, are a great place to see contemporary art in Paris. However, since the turn of the 21st century, Paris has seen an influx in venues dedicated to art made by current artists. These are often in repurposed historic buildings or structures designed by top contemporary architects, which adds another fascinating level to your visit. Discover our favorite contemporary art venues below.

Bourse de Commerce Paris

Bourse de Commerce (and top photo)

Bourse de Commerce

Once used for storing grain at Les Halles, Paris’s former central food market, and then the grain stock exchange, the former Bourse de Commerce reopened in June 2021 as the home of French Industrialist Francois Pinault’s collection of modern and contemporary art. The building was reinvented by Japanese architect Tadao Ando who added a 10-metre-high concrete cylinder inside the main exhibition hall, allowing visitors to better appreciate the building’s glass dome and historic frescoes. The galleries surrounding it feature revolving thematic presentations of art from the 1960s to today.

Palais de Tokyo Paris

Photo Credit: Palais de Tokyo

Palais de Tokyo

First built for the International Exhibition of Arts and Technology of 1937, the west wing of this Art Deco building on the Seine has housed France’s largest museum focused on temporary exhibitions of contemporary art since 2002. Vast industrial style exhibit halls allow for large scale installations which often involve sound, video or other modern technology. Check their agenda as they sometimes host DJ nights and other events.

Photo Credit: Fondation Louis Vuitton

Fondation Louis Vuitton

Designed by star architect Frank Gehry, this curvaceous glass building is hidden in the Bois de Boulogne woods in western Paris. It hosts temporary exhibits, both featuring the works of the Louis Vuitton fashion house collection, as well as top traveling international art exhibits, usually on work from the late 19th century to the present. Read more on the Foundation’s architecture in our post on the best contemporary architecture in Paris.

Fondation Cartier

Photo Credit: Fondation Cartier

Fondation Cartier

Original located in the suburbs of Paris, the Fondation Cartier received a new home in the 14th arrondissement, not far from our Paris School, in 1994. The sleek glass and steel building was designed by leading French architect Jean Nouvel, who also designed the Institut du Monde Arabe, the Musée du Quai Branly and the new Philharmonie (also included in our contemporary architecture article). Part offices, part exhibition space and with a notable bookshop, the Foundation puts on significant temporary art exhibitions, usually of living international art stars like Damien Hirst or Junya Ishigami.

Photo Credit: Fluctuart

Fluctuart

Occupying a modern glass barge moored in the Seine near the Musée d’Orsay is this art space dedicated to street art. There are rooms displaying the centre’s permanent collection and then temporary exhibits every few months. Ponder the works afterwards at the barge’s cool terrace café overlooking the river. Learn more about street art in our article on top street artists to spot around Paris.

Looking for more art explorations in Paris?

Musee-Gustav-Moreau-Paris

Historic Art Studios You Can Visit in Paris

Many artists have lived and worked in Paris over the centuries. We are fortunate enough to have the legacy of some preserved at their former art studios which have been transformed into museums. From early 19th century romanticism to modern sculpture, here are our top picks of historic art studios you can visit in Paris.

Musée Délacroix

Tucked away on a charming square in the Saint Germain neighborhood is the former studio and residence of Eugene Délacroix. One of the most important painters of the early 19th century Romantic movement, Délacroix is best known for his dramatic painting Liberty Leading the People (1830), hanging at the Louvre. The artist moved here in 1857 to be closer to the Saint-Sulpice church, where he’d been commissioned to produce several large murals. Facing a verdant courtyard and with large windows, he lived in this studio-apartment until his death in 1863 and it was converted into a museum in 1932.

Musee Gustav Moreau 2

Musée Gustav Moreau (and top photo)

Musée Gustave Moreau

The former home and studio of symbolist artist Gustav Moreau is set in an elegant mansion in the 9th district. The first section takes you through his former living quarters, however, the real highlight is his vast studio area, spread over two floors with towering ceilings and commissioned by the artist in the view of creating a museum in the building upon his death. Moreau passed away in 1898 and the venue opened as a museum in 1903. In addition to admiring the dozens of paintings of nymphs and mythological gods and goddesses, be sure to peer into the drawers and cabinets, filled with drawings, prints and more paintings.

Musée de Montmartre

Musée de Montmartre

Musée de Montmartre

This collection of buildings, formerly the art studio of Renoir, Degas, Suzanne Valadon and Maurice Utrillo, is now a museum on the history of this artistic neighborhood of Paris. The museum has displays on the history of the area in one building and temporary exhibits in another section, but the interest for art fans is the front wing where there is the reconstructed art studio of the last major artists who used the space: Suzanne Valadon and her son Maurice Utrillo. There is also a charming café in the garden, where you can also see what they consider as the swing depicted in Renoir’s famous painting  La Balançoire.

Musee-Zadkine-vue-aerienne-jardin-630x405-C-OTCP-Didier-Messina

Musée Zadkine Photo: Paris Info

Musée Zadkine

Located on the edge of the Luxembourg Gardens, and only a few blocks away from our Paris School, is the former studio of artist Ossip Zadkine. The Russian-born cubist sculptor spent much of his career living in Paris and working at his Montparnasse studio. Visiting it provides insight into what the area was early to mid 20th century, when it the artistic and literary centre of the city. In addition to the studio, you can contemplate more works in the museum’s tranquil garden. As it is one of the museums of the City of Paris, admission is free, extra incentive to visit!

Musée Bourdelle

Another studio of the Montparnasse area, the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle worked in this space from 1885 to 1929. An excellent example of a turn of the 20th century Parisian artist studio, the museum unfolds through a series of buildings and peaceful courtyards. Vast rooms filled with colossal sculptures are contrasted with his more intimate studio spaces. The museum also hosts temporary exhibits, so be sure to check the programme in advance.

Brancusi Studio, Groume / Flickr

Brancusi Studio

Many visitors to the Centre Pompidou are not aware that there is a famous art studio located at its base and which is annex of the museum. Although not at its original location, this is a loyal reconstruction of artist Constantin Brancusi’s Montparnasse studio, the contents of which he bequeathed to the French state in 1956. Living and working in Paris from 1904 until his death in 1957, the Romanian artist gradually expanded upon his studio on the Impasse Ronsin in the 15th arrondissement which were faithfully recreated after the artist’s death, first at the Palais de Tokyo then here when the Modern Art Museum was created in the 1970s.

Other Studio or Artist Homes:

Musée Jean-Jacques Henner – although it isn’t in its original location either, this charming museum in the 17th arrondissement was once the studio-home of Guillaume Dubufe and was transformed into a museum-studio in honor of painter Jean-Jacques Henner, both artists prominent painters in France during the second half of the 19th century.

Fondation Giacometti – also not in its original location and not an exact reconstruction, this center presents exhibitions, research and pedagogy around the Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti. The Institute is found in the Montparnasse neighbourhood not far from where Giacometti lived and worked and in the former studio of artist and interior designer Paul Follot.

Carry on discovering art in Paris thanks to these other thematic articles on our blog:

Interested in studying art in Paris? Consider pursuing our Master’s in the history and philosophy of art taught in English at our Paris School of Arts and Culture.

Best Small Museums in Paris

Paris may be home to some of the most famous museums on the planet, but in addition to big names like the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay and the Centre Pompidou, the city has hundreds of wonderful smaller museums. Often located in former mansions or the residence of the famous person who once inhabited the space, these unique venues have much fewer visitors than the large museums and offer a more intimate setting in which to connect with art or history.

Jacquemart-Andre Museum

Jacquemart-Andre Museum / Facebook

Musée Jacquemart-André

There are a number of fabulous museums in Paris located within former mansions and this is one of the loveliest and it also has a spectacular art collection. Much of the mid-19th century development of new Paris was taking place in the west of the city and the area around new Park Monceau was becoming a highly coveted district for the wealthy Parisians. It is thus not surprising that banker Edouard André bought a plot of land here to build his flamboyant mansion. He and his future wife, Nelie Jacquemart, would dedicated the rest of their lives to filling its exquisite rooms with one of the world’s most important private art collections, including works by Botticelli, Tiepolo, Rembrandt, Fragonard and Canaletto. In addition to the permanent collection, the museum hosts excellent temporary exhibits and has a chic courtyard café.

Musee Nissim de Camondo

Musée Nissim de Camondo

Also in the Parc Monceau area, this sumptuous house museum was originally built in 1911 for Count Moise Nissim de Camondo, an influential banker and art collector. He decorated his spectacular mansion, inspired by the Petit Trianon at Versailles, with an impressive collection of 18th-century artwork and decorative art objects. After you tour its opulent interiors, you can take a stroll through the Parc Monceau, one of the few Paris parks which survived the French Revolution.

Musée Monet Marmottan

Marmottan Monet Museum

It’s worth trekking out to the far corner of the 16th arrondissement to visit this museum dedicated to Monet. The elegant mid 19th-century mansion was bought in 1882 by the successful businessman Jules Marmottan, who was also a passionate art collector. His son Paul bequeathed the home and his art collections to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1932. This collection was then greatly augmented upon the death of Michel Monet, Claude Monet’s youngest son, who donated over a hundred of his father’s paintings to the museum. This total ensemble now forms the world’s largest collection of Monet’s works.

Musée de la Vie Romantique

This lovely museum is found within the former home of Dutch painter Ary Scheffer. Built in 1830, the house became a central meeting point for the key figures of the “romantic era”, the house itself being in the centre of the era’s most popular neighborhood called New Athens.  It attracted the likes of Georges Sand, Chopin, Eugène Delacroix, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres and Franz Liszt, who are represented in the art and objects on display in the charming museum. After your visit enjoy a coffee its alluring garden café.

 

Musée Carnavalet (and top photo) / Facebook

Musée Carnavalet

Another favourite museum located in former mansions in the Marais, the Musée Carnavalet, is reopening at the end of May 2021 after four years of extensive renovations. Home to the Museum of the History of Paris, it chronicles the city’s 2,000 years of history through artefacts, paintings, historic documents and decorative objects. Don’t miss the reconstruction of writer Marcel Proust’s bedroom and take a moment to enjoy its pretty courtyard garden.

Musée Cognacq-Jay

Musée Cognacq-Jay / Facebook

Musée Cognacq-Jay

Tucked away in the heart of the Marais, this is another elegant house museum. Dating back to the 16th century, the elegant building hosts a notable collection of decorative art and paintings from the 18th century (which is free to visit), along with temporary exhibits (paid). It also has a lovely summertime café and gorgeous back garden.

There are many other wonderful small museums in Paris and we will be gathering former art-studio museums in an another upcoming article.