Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Jean-de-La-Fontaine Museum is housed in the poet's home, a 4th quarter-century mansion located in Château-Thierry (Aisne, Hauts-de-France). Built in 1559, as indicated by a missing inscription, this Renaissance-style building preserves original decorative elements: a band of lily flowers, carved capitals, and three interlaced crescents – a symbol associated with Diane de Poitiers. The house, bought by Charles de La Fontaine (father of the poet) around 1617, saw the birth of Jean de La Fontaine in 1621. He spent his childhood there and inherited it in 1658, before selling it in 1676 for financial reasons.

Acquired by the municipality in 1876 thanks to a public subscription launched by the Société historique et archéologique de Château-Thierry, the house became a museum in 1889. The initial collections, offered by the patron Jules Maciet (1876-1878), then enriched with private donations, state deposits and targeted acquisitions. The museum, labeled Musée de France and Maison des Illustres, preserves original editions of the Fables and the Contes, autograph manuscripts, as well as works of art inspired by the Lafontaine work, from the seventeenth century (François Chauveau, Jean-Baptiste Oudry) to the twentieth century (Salvador Dalí, Marc Chagall).

The house, classified as a historic monument, has undergone major restoration since 2008, supported by the State and the Departmental Council of Aisne. Its architecture preserves original elements such as vaulted stone staircase, exposed beams ceilings, and tomette slabs. The museum journey, organized by epochs, highlights La Fontaine's reconstituted work office, paintings (Léon Lhermitte, Gabriel Revel), and a collection of derived objects (opalines, games, plates) illustrating the popular posterity of the Fables.

Among the master pieces are three preparatory drawings by Jean-Baptiste Oudry for the tapestries of Les Fables (1729-1734), a terracotta sketch of the statue of La Fontaine by Pierre Julien (1785), and luxury editions of the 18th and 19th centuries. The museum also houses a documentary collection on local artists, such as Léon Lhermitte (1844-1925), a naturalist painter from Mont-Saint-Père, or Eugene Buland (1852-1926), located in Charly-sur-Marne. These collections reflect the poet's regional anchor while highlighting his international influence.

The history of the museum is marked by peripets, such as its temporary transfer to the city hall in 1893 or its enrichment thanks to the Feuillet de Conches collection (200 Western and Oriental drawings illustrating the Fables). Today, the museum combines heritage conservation and cultural mediation, offering temporary exhibitions and an immersive journey in the world of La Fontaine, from his youth in Château-Thierry to his consecration as a major figure in French literature.

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