The history of the Musée Marmottan Monet
1863: a pavilion on the edge of the woods
The 16th arrondissement had not been part of Paris for long when the Duke of Valmy purchased a plot on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne to build a hunting lodge. The Ranelagh was a place for strolls, not a neighborhood park. What remains from this origin is the position of the house: set back, facing the trees, with windows that still overlook the garden today. This is what you see from the ground floor.
1882-1932: the Marmottans
Jules Marmottan, an industrialist, bought the property in 1882 and died the following year. His son Paul inherited it. A historian of the Napoleonic era, he expanded the mansion and filled it with First Empire furniture and art objects, envisioning a house that would itself be a collection. This is the decor you walk through on the ground floor and first floor. In 1932, Paul Marmottan died and bequeathed the mansion and its collections to the Académie des Beaux-Arts, a private institution. This status still explains why the Paris Museum Pass is not accepted here and why there are no free Sundays.
June 21, 1934: the Musée Marmottan
The museum opened under its founder’s name as an Empire museum. There wasn’t a single Monet yet. The first arrived through the donation of Victorine and Eugène Donop de Monchy, from the collection of Dr. Georges de Bellio, physician to the Impressionists: Impression, Sunrise, whose story is on its page. This gift transformed the nature of the place without anyone realizing it yet.
1966: Michel Monet
In 1966, Michel Monet, the painter’s son, bequeathed to the museum the entire collection of canvases kept at Giverny—over a hundred Monets, including the large late formats his father had kept in his studio. The house in Giverny itself was entrusted to the Académie and managed by the Fondation Claude Monet. The museum became “Marmottan Monet.” A wall was needed for the large canvases: in 1970, the underground gallery opened, and the final Water Lilies were shown to the public for the first time. What you see there is on the page about the Water Lilies at Marmottan.
October 27, 1985: the theft
In broad daylight, armed men enter and leave with nine paintings: Impression, soleil levant, other Monets, two Renoirs, and Berthe Morisot's At the Ball. The canvases were recovered in Corsica in December 1990 and rehung in 1991. Meanwhile, the museum had received, in the 1980s, the Daniel Wildenstein donation: three hundred and twenty-two medieval and Renaissance illuminations. In the 1990s, the Denis and Annie Rouart bequest brought the world's first Berthe Morisot collection, detailed on Berthe Morisot at the Marmottan. Today's museum is the sum of these successive gifts, without an overall plan, and this is what gives it the feel of a home rather than an institution.
What works
- A readable house, one floor per era
- The world's largest Monet collection, arrived through a son
- Gifts that echo one another: Monet, Morisot, the same 1874 exhibition
- A garden in front, unchanged since 1863
Good to know
- A private museum: no Museum Pass, no free Sundays
- None of this history is told on the walls: the audio guide takes care of that
- The Monet room is in the basement, not in the salons
- Closed Mondays
Arrive via the Ranelagh garden rather than the La Muette road: you'll see the façade from the trees, just as the Duke of Valmy intended, before entering. The route is on getting there by metro.
Visit today
Tickets are purchased at the door, no reservation required. To also visit the house in Giverny—the one Michel Monet entrusted to the Academy the same year as the paintings—this day trip starts from the museum.
Book the Marmottan + Giverny day trip
Frequently asked questions
Who was Paul Marmottan?
A historian of the Napoleonic era and son of industrialist Jules Marmottan. He expanded the mansion, filled it with Empire-style furniture, and bequeathed it to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1932. The decor can be seen on the ground floor—see what to see.
Why is the museum called Marmottan Monet?
Because Michel Monet, the painter's son, bequeathed over a hundred of his father's paintings to the museum in 1966. The museum added Monet's name to its own. See where to see Monet in Paris.
Were the paintings stolen in 1985 recovered?
Yes, all nine were found in Corsica in December 1990. They have been rehung since 1991. The first among them is described on Impression, soleil levant.
Is the museum state-owned?
No, it belongs to the Académie des Beaux-Arts, a private institute. That’s why the Paris Museum Pass isn’t accepted here, as explained on the Museum Pass page.