The House of the painter ary Scheffer (1795-1858)
Located in the heart of the Paris district called The New Athens, this property was built in 1830 on a piece of land previously owned by the Abesses Montmartre, next to Comte Chaptal's. It remained in the Scheffer-Renan family till it was transferred to the City of Paris in 1983, to become the Museum of the Romantics, dedicated to the arts and litterature of the first half of the XIXth century. It is one of the few remaining artists homes, dating from the early days of King Louis-Phillipe's monarchy.
The ground floor displays keepsakes, furnitures and portraits, previously owned by the writer George Sand (1804-1876) and bequeathed by her grand-daughter Aurore Lauth-Sand to the City of Paris in 1923.
The upper floor offers highlights of Ary Scheffer's art (portraits, historic and religious paintings...) among other artfacts of Romanticism.
Each Friday Ary Scheffer would entertain prestigious guests in his working studio opening to the left of the passage - when arriving : George Sand, Chopin, Delacroix, Rossini, Liszt, Pauline Viardot, thiers....The opposite studio was used by his brother the painter Henri Scheffer, as well as assistants and pupils. These twin studios facing north, on each side of the paved courtyard, are used nowadays to show two temporary exhibition each year.
Musée de la Vie Romantique
16 Rue Chaptal
75009 Paris
01 55 31 95 67
Thomas Couture Portrait of Maurice
Arie Johannes Lamme, The garden of rue Chaptal, 1865
