The Making of the Carnavalet Museum of the History of Paris
February 8: The Making of the Carnavalet Museum of the History of Paris
With Ulysse Jardat, Curator, Head of the Decor, Furniture and Decorative Arts Department
Ulysse Jardat, Curator and Head of the Decor, Furniture and Decorative Arts Department at the Carnavalet Museum of the History of Paris, will explain how Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann, Prefect of the Seine under Napoléon III between 1853 and 1870, proposed the creation of a museum dedicated to the history of the city that he had done so much to transform; how in 1866 the City of Paris acquired the 16th century Hôtel Carnavalet, one of the first and finest hôtels particuliers to be built in the Marais, for that purpose; how the museum was inaugurated in 1880; how its eclectic collection of paintings, sculptures, engravings, drawings, stained glass windows, models, manuscripts, photographs, furniture, signs and posters grew, and its buildings were enlarged, over the years, ultimately resulting in the annexation of an adjacent hôtel particulier in 1989; how the museum was completely renovated between 2017 and 2021 and now has 40 decorated rooms and galleries organized as a visit “pathway” (parcours) through eight different periods in the city’s history, from Gallo-Roman times until today.
With Ulysse Jardat, Curator, Head of the Decor, Furniture and Decorative Arts Department
Ulysse Jardat, Curator and Head of the Decor, Furniture and Decorative Arts Department at the Carnavalet Museum of the History of Paris, will explain how Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann, Prefect of the Seine under Napoléon III between 1853 and 1870, proposed the creation of a museum dedicated to the history of the city that he had done so much to transform; how in 1866 the City of Paris acquired the 16th century Hôtel Carnavalet, one of the first and finest hôtels particuliers to be built in the Marais, for that purpose; how the museum was inaugurated in 1880; how its eclectic collection of paintings, sculptures, engravings, drawings, stained glass windows, models, manuscripts, photographs, furniture, signs and posters grew, and its buildings were enlarged, over the years, ultimately resulting in the annexation of an adjacent hôtel particulier in 1989; how the museum was completely renovated between 2017 and 2021 and now has 40 decorated rooms and galleries organized as a visit “pathway” (parcours) through eight different periods in the city’s history, from Gallo-Roman times until today.