C’est fou, my husband said to the docent/guard in the gun room of Paris’ Museum of Hunting and Nature.
Fou et magnifique, she replied, nodding gravely.
Fou et magnifique indeed. Of all the museums, collections, galleries, and palaces I’ve wandered through, I’ve never seen anything quite as crazy, wonderful, and incredibly cool as this Marais gem.
What is this museum?
The Musée de la Chasse e de la Nature, as it’s properly called, is a collection of paintings, historical firearms, taxidermy, and various objets d’art located in the always-vibrant and popular Marais. As the name of the museum suggests, every item on display is related to hunting, to nature, or to the relationship therein. But that doesn’t even begin to capture the wonderfulness of the bejeweled dog sculptures, the beauty of the ornate antique rifles and powder pouches, the strangeness of the owl-feather bedecked ceiling of a recreated hunting blind, or the inexplicable homage to Planet of the Apes.
The Building
It also doesn’t even begin to capture the beauty of the 17th century mansion and neighboring 18th century hôtel particulier that house the museum. One part of the museum is housed in former Hôtel de Guénégaud, the only example of a private mansion by acclaimed architect François Mansart that is still standing. Wide carved stone staircases, high-ceilinged drawing rooms, and hidden courtyards tell the story of how aristocratic families lived in the Paris of the past.
A courtyard, unseen from the street, within the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature. Imagine what these walls have seen!
This contemporary sketch is a contrast to the ornate period fireplace mantle and wallpaper in one of the mansion’s salon rooms.
Painter Claude-François Desportes
A particular favorite of mine were a group of four ornamental panels of birds in lush outdoor setting by French Old Master Claude-François Desportes (1695-1774). His dark palette of blues and green really appealed to me along with the flat botanical style he used. Desportes’ father Alexandre-François was an acclaimed nature painter who accompanied king Louis XIV on hunting expeditions, making sketches that the king later chose to commission as paintings. Claude-François learned the art of hunting and painting from a young age and started painting still life that became somewhat popular in the 1720’s. Here is a detail of one of the paintings.
The armadillo is a nice touch, and I spent a bit of time wondering about the tropical scene with snow-capped mountains in the background.
Location and Admission
The Musée de la Chasse e de la Nature is a private museum, so your Paris Museum Pass won’t work. Budget in the 13,50 euro per person admission – it’s absolutely worth the price. We spent about an hour and a half browsing the collection, mostly with our mouths open, after having a tasty lunch at Au Coeur du Marais.
I do have to say that the staff were wonderful and were truly happy to be working there and sharing the treasures of the museum with us. Our French was as limited as their English, but that didn’t stop us from having some meaningful exchanges.
It’s located at 62 Rue des Archives, 75003 Paris, France, in the 3rd arrondissement of the Marais. They are closed on Mondays and open 11-6 every other day. I did not book a reservation in advance, but do a reality check on their website if you know you are going.
Big shout out to Jay Swanson of Paris in my Pocket, whose visit to this fantastic place put it on our Paris To Do list. His $39.99 online guide was also indispensable to helping plan this long Paris weekend, and I strongly recommend it to you if you have a trip coming up.
Here’s Jay’s video. Enjoy the flavor of this absolutely fou et magnifique Paris treasure!