Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The building on 6 rue de Furstemberg, built at the end of the 18th century, was one of the outbuildings of the Abbatial Palace of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. In 1857, Eugene Delacroix rented an apartment with a workshop to get closer to the church of Saint Sulpice, of which he decorated the chapel of the Angels. Suffering and rushed to complete his work, he lived there until his death in 1863, setting up a workshop in the garden after complex works documented in his writings. The apartment, about 150 m2, included a bedroom, a living room, a library, and rooms for its servants.

At the death of Delacroix, the site was occupied by the Saint Vincent de Paul Society. In 1928, threatened with destruction, they were saved by the Society of Friends of Eugene Delacroix, founded by artists such as Maurice Denis, Henri Matisse and Paul Signac, joined by historians and collectors. Through donations and exhibitions, the Society avoided demolition and obtained in 1954 the donation of the premises to the State. The National Museum officially opened in 1971, attached to the Louvre since 2004.

Today, the museum preserves major paintings (La Madeleine in the desert, Romeo and Juliet), lithographs (Hamlet series), personal objects (pallets, manuscripts) and a library of 2,200 books. His garden was rebuilt after documents from the period. Temporary exhibitions, since 1932, explore his work and influence, from Orientalism to Fauvism. Recently, he acquired pieces such as Cardinal Richelieu (2015) or George Sand's Portrait (2016).

The workshop and apartment, classified as Historic Monument in 1991, illustrate the daily life of the romantic painter. The Society of Friends, although less active, maintained its seat there until the 1970s. The museum has been part of the Maisons des Illustres network since 2016, and its holdings are regularly enriched, as evidenced by the catalogues of exhibitions published with the Louvre.

Delacroix also made ephemeral frescoes there (Valmont Abbey, 1834) and preserved various sources of inspiration, from Goya to medieval bindings. His paper and correspondence, exhibited, reveal his methods and admires, from Shakespeare to Voltaire. The museum highlights its triple heritage: painter (Romantic masterpieces), engraver (virtuoso lithographs) and writer (youth manuscrits).

Historical exhibitions, such as Delacroix and England (1948) or A Modern Struggle (2018), highlight his dialogue with the European arts. The place, managed by the Louvre, remains a tribute to its protean genius, between creative intimacy and artistic posterity, attracting researchers and art lovers of the 19th century.

Collection

Le musée Eugène Delacroix réunit une collection d'oeuvres de l'artiste couvrant une grande partie de sa carrière. Il conserve peintures, esquisses, dessins, estampes, lithographies, pierres lithographiques, objets ayant appartenu à Delacroix, ses palettes de couleurs, mais également l'ensemble de ses écrits, et certaines lettres de sa correspondance personnelle.

External links