The Musée Gadagne is a museum located in the center of the

Vieux Lyon The Vieux Lyon ( en, Old Lyon) is the largest Renaissance district of Lyon. In 1964, Vieux-Lyon, the city's oldest district, became the first site in France to be protected under the Malraux law to protect France's cultural sites. Covering an ar ...

, in the Saint-Jean quarter, in the 5th arrondissement of Lyon. It is composed of the Musée d'Histoire de Lyon (Museum of Lyon History) and the Musée des Marionnettes du monde (World Puppet Museum). The building was classified as a

historic monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

in 1920. It was acquired by the city of Lyon between 1902 and 1941. After it was determined to be in need of repair, the museum closed in 1998 for more than ten years for renovation and expansion. It was re-opened on 12 June 2009.

History

The museum is located in the Hôtel Gadagne, a building constructed in the early sixteenth century by the brothers Pierrevive (from 1511–1527). It was redesigned by the Gadagne (or Gadagni) brothers in 1545. This rich Florentine family lived in Lyon in the early fifteenth century. The brothers had many disagreements, and as a result, they stayed in two different parts of the hotel. At the time, their large fortune inspired a saying in Lyon: "riche comme Gadagne" ("rich as Gadagne"). At one time, one of the brothers, Thomas I de Gadagne (known as Thomas the Rich), paid part of the ransom to

Louise of Savoy Louise of Savoy (11 September 1476 – 22 September 1531) was a French noble and regent, Duchess ''suo jure'' of Auvergne and Bourbon, Duchess of Nemours, and the mother of King Francis I. She was politically active and served as the regent of F ...

for the release of King Francis I, a prisoner of the Spaniards after the battle of Pavia in 1525. In the seventeenth century, the hotel was divided evenly into small quarters. In 1902, it was partially bought by the city of Lyon. On 19 January 1998, the city council decided to close the museum to undertake major expansion and a controversial renovation. After ten years of closure and a major campaign of archaeological excavations, the museum opened its doors again in 2009. During that time, it expanded from an area of 3500 m² to 6300 m².

Description

Since 1921, the hotel has been home to the Historical Museum of Lyon. It features the collections previously installed at the Hôtel de Ville, Lyon until 1857. This museum consists of 80,000 objects in 30 rooms spread over four floors. It traces the cultural history of Lyon since the Middle Ages until the nineteenth century, giving archaeological remains,

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

s, furniture, and

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

. There are also many

map A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...

s, drawings and engravings to illustrate the growth of the city and the construction of its main buildings. Since 1950, the World Puppet Museum, organized around the Guignol puppet, has also been located in the Hotel Gadagne. The World Puppet Museum collection has featured as many as 2000 puppets over the course of its history. After the extensive renovation in the 2000s, the museum's collection is now presented throughout nine independent halls on the first floor. Currently, the building has a ramp leading to the door of the first part of the building. Beyond the ramp, there is a large, majestic courtyard which is decorated with a sink, flanked at the bottom by a gallery of passages which allows traffic between both buildings on each floor. The third floor houses the small theater Gadagne (with a 150-seat capacity), and the fourth floor provides access to the garden of the museum (700 m²).

Bibliography

* Monique Ray, ''Catalogue de l'exposition du cinquantième anniversaire de la fondation du Musée historique de Lyon : 1921-1971 : hommage à Justin Godart (1871-1956)'', Lyon, Musée historique, 1971, 20 p. * Monique Ray, ''Le musée historique / Le musée de la marionnette'', guide sommaire, 3^e édition, 1978, 40 p. * Monique Ray, « Acquisitions et réserves au musée historique de Lyon », ''Musées & collections publiques de France'', n° 194 (1992), p. 34-36. * ''Urbanisme et patrimoine à Lyon : 1850-1950 : naissance d'un musée'', Lyon : Musée Gadagne, 1998, 80 p. * Documents d'archéologie en Rhône-Alpes (DARA) n° 29 : ''Le musée Gadagne - Archéologie et histoire au cœur d'un projet patrimonial à Lyon'' ()

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Musee Gadagne Museums in Lyon Local museums in France Puppet museums Buildings and structures completed in 1527 5th arrondissement of Lyon Monuments historiques of Lyon