Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Maison européenne de la photographie (MEP) was founded in 1978 under the leadership of Jacques Chirac, then Mayor of Paris, and Henry Chapier. It opened in February 1996 in the Henault Hotel, an 18th-century mansion located at 5/7 rue de Fourcy. This building, built in 1706 for Henault de Cantobre, was renovated and expanded by architect Yves Lion, with controversial modifications such as the suppression of old woodwork and the destruction of carrosse sheds.

The MEP is a place dedicated to contemporary photography, with a collection of over 30,000 works, a library of 36,000 books, a 100-seat auditorium, and a video library. It offers exhibitions, lectures, film cycles and educational workshops. Until 2024, it also hosted the Workshop for the Restoration and Conservation of Photographs of the City of Paris (ARCP), created in 1983 to preserve the municipal photographic heritage.

The centre was successively led by Jean-Luc Monterosso (1996-2018), Simon Baker (2018-2025), and Julie Jones since December 2025. His exhibitions highlight international artists from the second half of the 20th century and the 21st century, with notable retrospectives such as Robert Frank, Helmut Newton, David Hockney, and Henri Cartier-Bresson. The MEP is part of an accessible cultural dissemination mission, combining exhibition prints, publications and projections.

The Hénault hotel, owned by the City of Paris since 1914, has been transformed to accommodate this cultural project. Despite the controversy surrounding renovations, there is still an example of adapting a historical heritage to contemporary use. The MEP is financially supported by the Paris City Hall, which provides the building and participates in its operation via the association "Paris Audiovisual – Maison Européenne de la Photographie".

MEP programming includes thematic exhibitions, tributes to missing photographers (such as the Bernard Pierre Wolff Auditorium), and major donations, such as the Dai Nippon Printing in 2017, enriching its collection of Japanese photographs. The place is meant to be a "house of look", offering user-friendly access to photography in all its forms.

Collection

Édifice culturel d'un nouveau type, la Maison européenne de la photographie abrite une bibliothèque de 24 000 ouvrages ; un auditorium de 100 places et une vidéothèque disposant d'environ un millier de films.

Elle dispose également d'une librairie spécialisée et d'un Café aménagé dans les salles voûtées du xviiie siècle.

External links