Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

La Grenouillère was an iconic canoeing, ball and catering establishment, located on the island of Croissy-sur-Seine between 1850 and 1920. During the Second Empire, it became a popular resort for Parisians, attracted by its festive atmosphere and mixed baths, a rarity for the time. The place, nicknamed the " Trouville of the banks of the Seine", even welcomed Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie in 1869. His success was based on his weekly ball, his canoes to rent and his small beach, where he mixed bourgeoisie and artists.

In 1869, Auguste Renoir and Claude Monet painted major works of Impressionism, such as La Grenouillère, capturing the vibrant atmosphere of the place. Guy de Maupassant, accustomed to the places, made a living description of it in his news, evoking a fauna bewildered by noirs and artists. The establishment, destroyed by fire in 1889, was rebuilt with elements of the Universal Exhibition, but declined in the face of the pollution of the Seine and the rise of cycling.

The Grenouillère disappeared definitively in the 1920s during the expansion of the river. Today, a small associative museum in Croissy-sur-Seine retains its memory through permanent and temporary exhibitions. The site remains associated with literary figures such as Guillaume Apollinaire, who composed a poem, and with melodies such as Francis Poulenc in 1938.

The island, once an area of freedom and social mix, symbolizes a time when the Seine was a place of leisure and artistic inspiration. Renoir and Monet's paintings, preserved in international museums, as well as Maupassant's texts, bear witness to its cultural influence. The present museum perpetuates this heritage through collections dedicated to its turbulent history.

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