Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature is a private establishment created in 1964 by François and Jacqueline Sommer, industrialists of the Ardennes, through their Foundation for Hunting and Nature. Their aim was to gather and exhibit a collection created since the 1930s, enriched between 1955 and 1965. Thanks to the intervention of André Malraux, then Minister of Cultural Affairs and friend of the couple, two private hotels in the Marais – the Hôtel de Guénégaud (built by François Mansart between 1652 and 1657) and the Hôtel de Mongelas – were entrusted to them with restoring and maintaining them. These buildings, classified or remarkable, have since been home to collections illustrating the relationship between man and nature.

The museum, designed by Georges de Lastic, revolves around three thematic groups: extra-European civilizations (especially African), hunting weapons, and natural sciences such as mammology, complemented by books of bibliophily. In 2007, the acquisition of the Mongelas hotel extended the museum trail, focusing on two main themes: hunting through time and contemporary art. The museum, labeled "Musée de France" in 2003, also organizes temporary exhibitions, combining heritage (cynegetic iconography, Renaissance practices) and creations by modern artists such as Erik Nussbicker or Eva Jospin.

The Parisian site was completed by a space at Chambord Castle in 1997, featuring 17th-century Flemish tapestries and contemporary works evoking royal hunting. After two years of work completed in 2021, the museum reopened with five additional rooms on a second floor. The hotel of Guénégaud, restored between 1964 and 1966, preserves a listed staircase of François Mansart, while the permanent collections mix naturalized trophies, ancient weapons and animal paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Collection

Les collections illustrent les rapports de l'homme à son environnement naturel à travers le riche patrimoine artistique et culturel qu'ils inspirent. La muséographie très originale est due à Georges de Lastic qui y fut conservateur. les collections s'organisent autour de trois ensembles :
- Les instruments de la chasse, depuis les origines jusqu'à nos jours.
- Une importante collection de trophées et d'animaux naturalisés d'Europe, d'Afrique, d'Asie et d'Amérique.
- La représentation de la faune et de la chasse au cours des âges : À travers un exceptionnel ensemble d'oeuvres d'art (peintures, arts graphiques, sculptures, tapisseries, céramiques, pièces de mobilier).

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