The Musée Jean-Jacques Henner has just reopened last Saturday on the occasion of the European Night of Museums 2016 after two years of renovation. I visited it yesterday. I love the remarkable architecture of the building and the way the works of art are exhibited; and I have been really impressed by Henner’s paintings which I did not know at all before my visit. Thanks to the renovation the Winter garden and the Lounge with columns are now open to the public after a fifteen-year closure: A must-see!
Musee Jean Jacques Henner-Paris- The winter gardenMusee Jean Jacques Henner-Paris- The Lounge with columns
The Parc Monceau is doubtless the smartest garden in Paris. It is located in a very elegant and upscale neighbourhood in the 8th arrondissement of Paris and surrounded by beautiful buildings and luxury ‘Hotels Particuliers’.
The Parc Monceau was created in 1769 by the Duke of Chartres who entrusted its landscaping to the painter and architect Carmontelle. Carmontelle put there a variety of follies, which were very fashionable at that time: an Egyptian pyramid, the ‘Naumachie’, which is a pond surrounded by Corinthian columns and inspired by the Ancient Rome, greek columns, a sarcophagus,… During the French Revolution the Park underwent huge transformations.
One had then to wait until 1852 before seeing the Park be redesigned as a landscape garden. And in 1861 the Parc Monceau such as we know it today was inaugurated by Napoleon III : Some of the follies of Carmontelle are still there, including the impressive Naumachie ; many trees have been planted and other antiques and sculptures added. Among them a lovely Venitian bridge dating from the Second Empire: one of my favourites!
I am out of Paris for a couple of days and will be back at the end of April… with news posts about my latest discoveries in Paris to share with you!
Meantime I suggest for those of you who are currently in Paris to rediscover my Top Five Walks as Spring is the ideal season to stroll in the Parisian streets and parks: not too warm, not too busy, and offering beautiful lights. Try them if you have not yet… I am sure that you will love them!
