Musée de la vie romantique

You enter the secluded little courtyard through an anonymous gate, off a quiet Paris street. Passing along a covered, cobbled pathway, you are led to the small, but nicely formed garden. Dappled in shade from the established trees, it houses a pretty little café from its greenhouse. The main house, which is the museum, is free to enter, and the collections are over two floors of rooms that are completely in-keeping with the romantic decor of the time.

The two main collections in the house are from Ary Scheffer, who once lived at the house, and the writer George Sand, who lived in the neighbourhood.

Ary Scheffer was a Dutch artist, born in 1795, who moved to Paris in 1811 with his mother. He began his artistic career from an early age, and was successful as a painter of literary scenes and portraiture of famous and influential people. Later in life he took on the role as drawing teacher to the children of the Duke of Orleans—Louis-Philippe—and became close to the royal family.

I loved his painting of Princess Marie d'Orléans, who was one of his students. She was a French princess, artist, and sculptor, who lived from 1813 to 1839, and was the daughter of King Louis Philippe I.

In his later life Ary would often invite other artists and creatives to his house, such as Eugène Delacroix, Paul Delaroche, Théodore Rousse, Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, and George Sand.

George Sand (1804-1876) who gained fame for her love affair with Frederic Chopin, published more than seventy novels, twenty plays and various texts, that made her one of the most prolific writers of the 19th century. Her paintings, jewels, and memories—collected by her granddaughter Aurore Lauth-Sand, and on display here—help evoke the story of her artistic life.

It was a delightful and evocative little museum.