Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Meudon Museum of Art and History occupies a 17th-century residence in Meudon (Hautes-de-Seine), classified as a historical monument since 1891. Originally, this house belonged to Ambroise Paré, surgeon of King Henry II, who acquired it in 1550 to settle the debts of his in-laws. The property, then modest, was enlarged over the centuries, notably by Rollin Burin in the seventeenth century, which added two wings and decorated the main hall of arabesques still visible today.

In 1676 the actress Armande Béjart, the widow of Molière, made it her secondary residence. After his death in 1700, the house changed hands several times, becoming a school under Pierre Poulain de Launay in the 18th century. In the 19th century, it was acquired by the Hupais family, which organized literary and artistic receptions there. In 1891 Augustin Dulaurier, son of a professor at the Institute, classified the building and restored his hidden murals under layers of wallpaper.

After becoming a municipal property in 1941, the site initially housed a local history museum opened in 1943 as Villa Molière. Transformed into a municipal museum in 1973, it was renovated several times, notably between 2008 and 2012 to improve its accessibility. Today, its collections are structured around three axes: the history of the Meudon castles (notably those related to Louis XIV and Madame de Pompadour), local industrialization in the 19th and 20th centuries, and a major fund of 19th century French landscape paintings, enriched by the gift of the Grellety Bosviel family in 2006.

The museum also preserves works by modern sculptors (Jean Arp, Caesar, Parvine Curie) and 20th century drawings from the Isis Kischka collection. Its temporary exhibitions and garden, partially accessible to the public, complement the cultural offer. The house, a witness to five centuries of history, thus combines architectural heritage and eclectic collections, reflecting the artistic and social evolution of Meudon.

The house itself, built on a site occupied from the 16th century, bears the traces of its multiple occupants: from the Mazelin family (XVI century) to the Laurese of Salienne (XVIII century), passing through the heirs of Molière. Its classification in 1891 and its acquisition by the city in 1941 preserved this place full of history, now labeled Musée de France.

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