Lesser-known Museums

And there are a lot of them.

 

MUSEE du QUAI BRANLY

The Musée du Quai Branly houses African, Asian, Oceanic and American artifacts. “It welcomes the objects,” says French architect Jean Nouvel, “sheltering them from the world in which they have arrived so that they can recall the worlds they came from.”

To light the glass partition wall, which separates the museum grounds from Quai Branly, the busy street that is beside the Seine River, light artist Yann Kersalé has installed projectors that will cast green and blue double shadows of a dozen trees, such as oaks and maples, onto the transparent wall. In his garden of long shadows, Kersalé would like visitors to appreciate the darkness, as well as the light. “A shadow can be beautiful,” he says.

The glass partition wall separates the museum from the street.

Landscaping leading to the entrance of the museum

Continuing on the path to the museum entrance

The path to the entrance of the museum

The museum is in close proximity to the Eiffel Tower.

Outside, French landscape architect Gilles Clément’s landscaped gardens haven’t yet matured, so Yann Kersalé’s 1,277 light sticks planted in small islands of vegetation are still clearly visible. Ranging from one foot to six and one-half feet in height, the LED light sticks will eventually become obscured by plants and trees. A third of the rods are lit by blue LEDs, another third have green LEDs, and the rest are white. The French light artist intended to surround the building with a “a lake of light.”

LED light sticks which will eventually be hidden by vegetation.

LED light sticks

Taller LED light sticks at the back of the museum, where the land abuts residential buildings

From the main entrance, visitors move up a 200-yard-long white ramp, winding through the temporary exhibition area. It is an artwork called, “The River,” but it is not smooth sailing because it seems to go on and on, ever upward. In the dimly-lit walkway, thousands of words are projected on the floor in what appears to be an endless “river of words.” Eventually, the ramp ends up in the low-light conditions in the main exhibition hall. The exhibits of native costumes, primitive art, artifacts, masks, totem poles, weapons, etc. are very interesting. They are shown three-dimensionally; you can walk around them, and although some of the exhibits are highlighted, many are seen only in low light. The presentation of the exhibits is dramatic, but I couldn’t find much in the way of explanation and context for these items. More emphasis seems to be placed on the artistry of the exhibits than on their historical significance.

The layout of the museum remains a mystery to me. I had no idea how to find my way around, but I kept wandering until I found the temporary Maori exhibit. It was a whole different story: it was well-lit, nicely laid out and very inviting. It didn’t have the dramatic appearance of the main exhibition hall, but it offered a lot more historical context.

Sign pointing the way to the special Maori exhibit

This intriguing-looking building is where the temporay Maori exhibit was housed.

The Branly Museum Bookstore and Gift Shop

If you are interested in the anthropology of non-western cultures, you may find this museum visually appealing; however, it may not be as enlightening as a more traditional museum. In this museum, artistry trumps anthropology.


MUSEE MARMOTTAN-MONET

On the way from the metro stop to the Musee Marmottan-Monet, I walked past this garden with newly-planted pansies. They haven’t taken hold yet, but the garden will be lovely and colorful when they do.

The Musee Marmottan became the Museum Marmottan-Monet after receiving the bequeathal of Michel Monet.

 

 

This museum owns the largest Monet Collection, from Impressionism, Sunrise to Giverny’s Water Lilies, thanks largely to the donation of Michel Monet in 1966. Impression: Soleil Levant (Impression: Sunrise, 1872) is the work that helped give the Impressionist movement its name The room where the collection is housed was specially built for the purpose of displaying Monet’s work so that viewers can admire the significant stages of Monet’s career and follow the evolution of his technique. It’s almost overwhelming, in a very good way, to see so many of Monet’s paintings all in one place. The museum also houses works by other impressionists and post-impressionists, such as Degas, Manet, Renoir and Gauguin.

I saw the exhibit, Henri Edmond Cross and Neo-impressionism from Seurat to Matisse, which ran from October 20, 2011, to February 19, 2012. The banner is hung across the facade of the museum.

Bust of Jules Marmottan

Long ago, the museum itself was a hunting lodge at the edge of the Bois de Boulogne. Jules Marmottan became its owner in 1882 and left it to his son, Paul. Through Paul Marmottan’s donation of the house and its art collection, the Musee Marmottan was first opened to the public in 1934. Today it is a stately mansion located across from a lovely park in the 16^th arrondissement. The mansion still feels like a graciously decorated private home, with Empire furnishings filling the salons. It may be a bit out of the way, but its permanent collection and special exhibitions are well worth the trip.

MUSEE DE LA CHASSE ET DE LA NATURE

The Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature (Museum of Hunting and Nature) is a private museum located in the 3^rd arrondissement. The museum celebrates hunting and the love and preservation of nature. I don’t know how to reconcile these ideas because hunting animals seems to be counter to preserving nature, but no matter, the museum was very interesting and in some cases surprising and kind of quirky. Where else would you find a life-sized stuffed fox curled up in a period French chair? Or choose one of many authentic bird calls you would like to hear?

Musee de la Chasse et de la Nature Sign

Museum logo

The museum is located in a former hotel particulier.

(A hotel particulier is a freestanding, grandiose home, owned at one time by a nobleman)

The museum is organized around the themes of hunting instruments; hunting trophies and stuffed animals; and artistic representations of wildlife and hunting such as paintings, prints, sculptures, tapestries, ceramics and furniture.

This poster appeared in a metro station. The funny little animal (a deer?) is the work of the exhibiting artist, Francoise Petrovich. It really is an eye-catching poster.

Another poster in the metro, this time with a Francoise Petrovich sculpture of a rabbit in front of a life-size bear. Her renditions of animals are all this whimsical.

In all truth, I had no real interest in hunting nor in its relation to nature. What drew me in was the art installation in the museum courtyard that is facing the street. It was part of a special exhibit by Francoise Petrovich called “Forget me Not.” Her sculptures also appear throughout the museum, playing off aspects of the permanent collection.

"Forget me Not” by Francoise Petrovich

Another view of the sculpture with an art student sketching it

A detail of the sculpture

Another detail of the sculpture

A final view of the sculpture

This museum was a bonus. I had no idea what would be in a hunting museum but found beautiful artwork and odd but fascinating exhibits in the rooms, hallways and niches.

MUSEE PICASSO

One of the Musee Picasso signs I followed all the way to rue Thorigny

One of many little surprise gardens on the way to the museum

The hotel particulier that houses the Picasso collection was built between 1656 and 1659 for Pierre Aubert, a tax farmer who became rich collecting the salt tax (the name of the building Sale means "salted"). It is considered to be one of the finest historic houses in the Marais. For the most part, the interior of the Hotel Salé (which had undergone significant modifications) was restored to its former spacious state.

Uh-oh!

The courtyard of the Hotel Salé

The creature on top of the wall seems to be half woman, half animal. From the looks of the courtyard, something here is wrong.

Check out the bas-relief at the top of the building façade.

What is the trash doing here?

The brickwork looks to be in progress.

Picasso once said, "I am the greatest collector of Picassos in the world." He had amassed an enormous collection of his own work by the time of his death in 1973.The Musée Picasso contains more than 3000 different works of art by Pablo Picasso including drawings, ceramics, sculptures in wood and metal, and paintings. This is complemented by Picasso's own personal art collection of works by other artists, including Cezanne, Degas, Rousseau, Seurat and Matisse. One of the most impressive aspects of the museum is that it contains a large number of works which Picasso painted after his seventieth birthday.

A very grand and imposing stairway in the museum-to-be

Unfortunately, the Musée Picasso closed for renovation in August 2009 and will remain closed until the spring of 2013. I had followed the Musee Picasso signs for many blocks, so finding the museum in this condition was very disappointing. At the same time, I wondered, "Why isn't work going on to complete the renovation?" I look forward to coming back in 2013.

This is the only living creature guarding the future Musee Picasso--and he was more of a sweet, gentle soul than he was a guard dog.