Musée de la Vie Romantique — Attraction in Paris

Musée de la Vie Romantique or Museum of the Romantic Life is dedicated to the literary/cultural movement of Romanticism. A movement that gave absolute credibility to the author or painter's own emotions to create an experience through his art.

Entrance to the permanent exhibition is free.

The museum was formerly the main residence and studio of Ary Scheffer - a Dutch-French painter. There are two main buildings on the property, one the house and one the artist's studio.

Ary Scheffer was known to host intellectuals and artists of his time at his home. And this is what makes the museum special. You get to imagine a fragment of how it might have played out with artists and authors mingling, music being played, recitals. The list of the visitors to the house is impressive - George Sand (who was his neighbour), Ernest Renan (his niece's husband) Frederic Chopin, Eugene Delacroix, Franz Liszt, Gioacchino Rossini, Pauline Viardot and Charles Dickens! The museum has a little bit from a few of them. The main personalities focused are George Sand, Ernest Renan and ofcourse Ary Scheffer himself.

His studio also houses two breathtaking sculptures including one of Ammani Ammal, an Indian dancer, sculpted by Jean Auguste Barre!

The reason for one star less is that I would have loved to see more of the other visiting artists or maybe drawings of them together at the house to better weave their story. Also the stairs need some...

This is a free admission museum if you are going for the permanent collection, that can be seen through the rooms into this 19th century house built next to Montmartre, 9e arrondisement. Ary Scheffer, dutch born painter, used this house when in Paris. A significant part of the permanent collection has his signature, but also his contemporary dudes. Into soirées with a crew like Chopin, Delacroix, Ingres and George Sand in this place that today is a museum. Worth studying a little about these guys before coming. Not mandatory, just a suggestion 😊. There's a café and a romantic garden to chill when the weather is nice, like mine today 😉. Café is set where, at Scheffer's time, it used to be a greenhouse. Closes at 5:45pm. Museum and garden close at 6pm. Just a suggestion here about the service at the café that can ne improved. Meaning, hey guys, let's try to be more careful with guestas. It doesn't take much to make visitors feel special, a smile, showing interest by what your visitors need... But just to make things clear, I didn't feel disrespected at all. A good short visit...

Romantic here refers to 19th century Romanticism, not romantic love. (hello!) It's a charming, unusual museum for Paris, given that Romanticism is much more associated with Germany than France. Fans of George Sand will find a lot to love. It's a perfect destination to plan for lunch when the weather is good. The courtyard could hardly be more appropriate to the theme with finches fluttering about the twisted tree trunks, and sneaking into the cafe to steal bits of croissant!

All written guides are available in English and French, when the staff heard me speaking English, they rushed to give me some. I didn't check for other languages. The buildings themselves and decorations evoke the theme: heavy drapes, faux wood detailing and marble wallpaper, creaky spiral staircases...

As an American, I find my associations with the 19th century are so deeply rooted in the Civil War (and the lead up to it and the Restoration period) that it's hard to see anything but misery in the whole aesthetic. But it made me think about how Art Nouveau was light by comparison and a...