The Musée de la Révolution française (Museum of the French Revolution) is a departmental museum in the French town of

Vizille Vizille (; frp, Veselye) is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Population Sights Vizille is the home of the Musée de la Révolution française, a rich depository of archival and rare materials devoted to the French R ...

, south of

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

on the

Route Napoléon The Route Napoléon is the route taken by Napoléon in 1815 on his return from Elba. It is now concurrent with sections of routes N85, D1085, D4085, and D6085. The route begins at Golfe-Juan, where Napoleon disembarked 1 March 1815, beginnin ...

. It is the only museum in the world dedicated to the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

. Its exhibits include

Jean-Baptiste Wicar Jean-Baptiste Wicar (22 January 1762 – 27 February 1834) was a French Neoclassical painter and art collector. Life The son of a carpenter, Wicar was born in Lille. He studied drawing at the free school in Lille before further honing his t ...

's ''The French Republic'' (the first known representation of the French Republic) and William James Grant's ''La cocarde'' (''The

Cockade A cockade is a knot of ribbons, or other circular- or oval-shaped symbol of distinctive colours which is usually worn on a hat or cap. Eighteenth century In the 18th and 19th centuries, coloured cockades were used in Europe to show the allegi ...

''), representing

Josephine de Beauharnais Josephine may refer to: People * Josephine (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Josephine (singer), a Greek pop singer Places *Josephine, Texas, United States * Mount Josephine (disambiguation) * Josephine Coun ...

with her daughter Hortense. The museum was opened on 13 July 1984 in the presence of

Louis Mermaz Louis Mermaz (born 20 August 1931 in Paris) is a French politician. Early life He became an ally of François Mitterrand in the late 1950s and in 1971 became a member of Mitterrand's staff in the French Socialist Party. In 1967, he was ele ...

, president of the

National Assembly of France The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are know ...

. It is housed in the

Château de Vizille The Château de Vizille is a castle in the French town of Vizille near Grenoble. It is one of the most prestigious and important castles of the Dauphiné Region. Traditionally, from the 14th century, the Dauphiné was the homeland of the inheri ...

, which has a long history of artistic conservation, and is home to a documentation centre on the French revolutionary period. The museum also organizes international symposiums about the French Revolution.

Castle history

Located 15 km south of Grenoble on the

, the

(Castle Lesdiguières) is the former home of the Dukes of Lesdiguières. The founder of the dynasty, François de Bonne de Lesdiguières, completed his castle in 1619. King

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crow ...

, who made him

Constable of France The Constable of France (french: Connétable de France, from Latin for 'count of the stables') was lieutenant to the King of France, the first of the original five Great Officers of the Crown (along with seneschal, chamberlain, butler, and ...

, visited it on 3 December 1622. In 1716, the building was transferred to the Dukes of Villeroy. The Perier family owned it from 5 June 1780 to 23 December 1895. The castle was the summer residence of the presidents of the French Republic from 1924 to 1972. France ceded the castle and its domain to the General Council of

Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.Assembly of Vizille met in the castle's '' jeu de paume'' room after the 7 June Day of the Tiles in

Pope Pius VI Pope Pius VI ( it, Pio VI; born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to his death in August 1799. Pius VI condemned the French Revoluti ...

spent a night in the castle at the invitation of owner Claude Perier on 5 July 1799, and

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

stopped there during his return from the island of

Elba Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano Nationa ...

on 7 March 1815. Used as a factory, the castle experienced a fire in the night of 9–10 November 1825 which spread to part of the city. In 1828, Adolphe Perier (son of owner Augustin Perier and grandson of Claude) married Nathalie de La Fayette (daughter of Georges Washington de La Fayette and granddaughter of the Marquis de La Fayette) in the castle. Absent from the ceremony, the Marquis de La Fayette was a guest on 19 August 1829 during a visit with Nathalie. Adolphe Perier, after the death of his father in December 1833, continued restoring the castle. In 1862, after Adolphe's bankruptcy, the Académie des Beaux-Arts classified the castle as a ''

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a col ...

'' and Henry Fontenilliat (step-father of Auguste Casimir-Perier) became the new owner. Two years later, Henri Fontenilliat died; his daughter, Camille (Auguste's wife), inherited the castle. Vizille-chateau-Marianne

The lessons of the 1825 fire were not learned; on 17 February 1865, a second fire destroyed an L-shaped wing containing the ''jeu de paume'' room and a battle gallery built in 1615 by Lesdiguières. They were never rebuilt. Activity in the castle's printing factory halted. Auguste Casimir-Perier and his wife, Camille, received Philippe d'Orléans (count of Paris) in 1872 and

Adolphe Thiers Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( , ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian. He was the second elected President of France and first President of the French Third Republic. Thiers was a key figure in the July Rev ...

in 1874. For the centenary of the Assembly of Vizille on 21 July 1888, President Sadi Carnot dedicated a statue of Liberty (also called Marianne) in front of the castle. Sculpted by Henri Ding, its pedestal is engraved with sentences from the assembly and the names of representatives of the province of

Dauphiné The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois. In the 12th centu ...

. Two months after France purchased the castle, ''La Dépêche dauphinoise'' mentioned the possibility of a museum. The newspaper mentioned it again on 6 March 1932, specifying a museum of the French Revolution. With the opening that summer of the nearby Napoleon Road, a room was devoted to the history of the castle. After the 1981 election of

François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...

, the 2 March 1982 decentralization law permitted a museum dedicated to the French Revolution far from

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. At its 10 June 1983 meeting, the general council of Isère created a museum of the French Revolution in the castle of Vizille. Two people contributed to the museum's founding: Departmental Archives of Isère director Vital Chomel and historian Robert Chagny, curator of its first temporary exhibition. Others who participated in the collection of the first works were Jacqueline Mongellaz (1984–1990) and Alain Chevalier (since 1988). The first rooms of the museum were set up at the beginning of 1984, and its first director (from 1984 to 1996) was art historian Philippe Bordes. The museum was dedicated on 13 July 1984 in the presence of the President of the National Assembly, two ministers, and president of its scientific and technical council

Michel Vovelle Michel Vovelle (6 February 1933 – 6 October 2018) was a French historian who specialised in the French Revolution.James Friguglietti, 'Michel Vovelle and the Revolutionary Succession', ''French Politics and Society'', No. 8 (December 1984), pp. 2 ...

. In November 1987, work began on the Hall of Columns (later called the Republic Room) two large staircases ascending from the current entrance, and elevator access to all levels of the museum. Two new halls were dedicated on 21 July 1988, but financing difficulties delayed the completion of 600 square metres (6,458 square feet) of the Hall of Columns. When it opened in March 1992, the museum contained twenty rooms on five levels. Since 2010, the site of the former ''jeu de paume'' hall (removed in 1865) is indicated by a hedge to the right of the museum entrance.

Collections

The museum's themes, in addition to the revolution, are contemporary movements such as

Lumières The Lumières (literally in English: ''The Lights'') was a cultural, philosophical, literary and intellectual movement beginning in the second half of the 17th century, originating in western Europe and spreading throughout the rest of Europe. I ...

and

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

. It features works of art and historical objects from, before and after the revolutionary era. Château de Vizille (38)

The museum is an historical museum based on works of art. These works, more than historical illustrations, are keys to a better understanding of the upheavals and historical context. The paintings and sculptures of the revolutionary era span a variety of styles and genres. The paintings are allegories, historical events, portraits, ancient (or tragic) scenes, and landscapes. Of the statues, several busts are faithful representations of Antoine Barnave, Bailly, Mirabeau, Louis XVII,

Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...

, Danton and his wife Antoinette, and General Lafayette. Statues in a variety of materials include Madame Roland, Saint-Just, and

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

. Decorative arts illustrate everyday life: furniture,

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...

, and French, English and Dutch

faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip of a lead glaze, was a major ...

. Unique objects are stones from the Bastille, swords from the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

, and musical instruments. Drawings, prints, and fragile works (fans, miniatures, and printed fabrics) are protected from light and presented in temporary exhibitions. Nineteenth-century works include two paintings by : ''Le matin du 10 Therminor An II'' (The Morning of 10 Thermidor Year II) (1877) and ''Jean-Paul Marat'' (1879), which demonstrate the power of references to the movement which led to the

French First Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (french: Première République), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (french: République française), was founded on 21 September 1792 ...

in the context of their time. Other painters are present in the rooms with Louis-Pierre Baltard, Pierre-Nicolas Legrand de Lérant, Nanine Vallain,

Guillaume Guillon-Lethière Guillaume Guillon-Lethière (; 10 January 1760 – 22 April 1832) was a French neoclassical painter. Life Born free in Guadeloupe in 1760 to a French colonial official named Pierre Guillon and a " mulatto" mother, Lethière has been often ...

, Johann Baptist von Lampi the Elder, Adolf Ulrik Wertmüller, Antoine-François Callet, Alfred Elmore, Auguste Vinchon,

Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux (3 April 1815 – 8 November 1884) was a French artist and illustrator, known primarily as a battle painter. Life and works He was born in Paris, France, studied art at the studio of Léon Cogniet, and first ...

, Charles Louis Müller or

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in taste away f ...

Alexandre Debelle (curator of the museum of Grenoble) painted ''The Assembly of Notables in Vizille, 1788'' (also known as the ''Assembly of the Three Orders of the Dauphiné'') in 1853, illustrating the Assembly of Vizille; the painting is on the museum third floor, facing the staircase. About 60 Dauphine notables are depicted in the painting, and a sketch underneath helps visitors locate them. They include lawyer and future mayor of Grenoble Antoine Barnave (standing on the platform), his colleague

Mounier Mounier is a surname, and may refer to: * Anthony Mounier (born 1987), French footballer * Emmanuel Mounier (1905–1950), French philosopher * Flo Mounier, drummer * Jean-Jacques Mounier (born 1949), French judoka * Jean Joseph Mounier Jean ...

(sitting behind the table—with the Count of Morges presiding—and holding a sheet in his hand) and on the left, future representative in the Chamber of Representatives and future mayor of Grenoble. A bronze statue of

Jean-Paul Marat Jean-Paul Marat (; born Mara; 24 May 1743 – 13 July 1793) was a French political theorist, physician, and scientist. A journalist and politician during the French Revolution, he was a vigorous defender of the '' sans-culottes'', a radica ...

, made in 2013 by the Barthélemy Art foundry, replaced Jean Baffier's 1883 version. The sculpture, on the museum's forecourt, was dedicated on 16 July 2013. Baffier's statue was purchased by the city of Paris and installed in several public parks (the Parc Montsouris, the gardens of the Carnavalet Museum and the Parc des Buttes Chaumont) before it was melted down during the Second World War. The stone pedestal supporting the statue contains a quote from Marat's newspaper, '' L'Ami du peuple''.

Library

The Albert Soboul Library and Documentation Centre provides researchers and students with an important resource of often-rare documentation of the art and history of the French Revolution. Created in June 1982 (shortly before the museum opened), it has occupied two levels of the museum's north wing since 2001. In addition to busts and paintings of revolutionary-era figures, it contains documentation of various aspects of the French Revolution, including its artistic and cultural impacts. The 27,000-title collection, including in history, in art history and works published between 1750 and 1810, is largely made up of legacies and donations from libraries of French Revolution historians. Acquisitions continue to be made worldwide, and a reserve of prints dating to before 1805 is kept at a constant temperature and protected from light. The library was named in June 2005 for historian Albert Soboul, the foremost French authority on the revolutionary era (who bequeathed his collection of books on the revolution to the museum before his death in 1982). The library was expanded with the libraries of historians

Jacques Godechot Jacques Léon Godechot (3 January 1907 – 24 August 1989) was a French historian of the French revolution, and a pioneer of Atlantic history. As a frequent and varied contributor to the ''Annales Historiques de la Révolution Française'', he act ...

, Jean-René Suratteau and Roger Barny, which were donated by their families. Visited by researchers from around the world, the library is part of the Bibliothèque municipale de Grenoble network.

Temporary exhibits

* 2017–2018:

François de Bonne, Duke of Lesdiguières François de Bonne, duc de Lesdiguières (, 1 April 1543 – 21 September 1626) was a French soldier of the French Wars of Religion and Constable of France, and one of only six Marshals to have been promoted Marshal General of France. Early ...

(french: La Splendeur des Lesdiguières) * 2018: The misfortunes of Louis XVII (french: Heurs et malheurs de Louis XVII, arrêt sur images, links=no) * 2019: A people and its Révolution (comics) * 2021 : La Marseillaise (national anthem of France) * 2022 : The landscape under the French revolution

Gallery

File:Charlotte Corday et Marat, 1880 Jules Aviat.jpg, alt=Portrait of Charlotte Corday, Jules-Charles Aviat, ''Charlotte Corday and Marat'' (1880) Image:Thomas André Marie Bouquerot de Voligny.png, alt=Portrait of a smiling man in ceremonial clothing, Thomas Bouquerot de Voligny (1755-1841), deputy to the Council of Ancients Image:Prise de la Bastille IMG 2250.jpg, alt=Painting by an unknown artist, ''

Storming of the Bastille The Storming of the Bastille (french: Prise de la Bastille ) occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, when revolutionary insurgents stormed and seized control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison known as the Bastille. At ...

'' File:Garde national et femme IMG 2245.JPG, alt=Painting, Remi-Furcy Descarsin, ''A

and his wife'' (1791) File:Serment de La Fayette IMG 2376.JPG, alt=Painting of Lafayette at a ceremony, Oath by Lafayette at the Fête de la Fédération, 14 July 1790 File:Robespierre IMG 2302.jpg, alt=Bust of a severe-looking Robespierre,

Maximilien Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...

, 1791 bust by Claude-André Deseine Marie Antoinette being taken to her Execution, 1794.jpg, William Hamilton, ''Marie-Antoinette being taken to her execution, October 16, 1793'' (1794) File:William Henry Fisk - Robespierre.jpg, William Henry Fisk, ''Robespierre receiving letters from friends of his victims threatening to murder him'' (1863)

References

Bibliography

* Philippe Bordes, Alain Chevalier, ''Catalogue des peintures, sculptures et dessins du Musée de la Révolution française'', 1996 .

External links

*
Museum on the Site Carmagnole-LIBERTE

Presentation of the museum by its director on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Musee De La Revolution Francaise De Vizille French Revolution History museums in France Museums in Isère 1983 establishments in France Art museums established in 1983