Jeu de Paume (, ''Real Tennis Court'') is an arts centre for modern and postmodern photography and media. It is located in the north corner (west side) of the

Tuileries Gardens The Tuileries Garden (, ) is a public garden between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. Created by Catherine de' Medici as the garden of the Tuileries Palace in 1564, it was opened to the public in ...

next to the

Place de la Concorde The Place de la Concorde (; ) is a public square in Paris, France. Measuring in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées. It was the s ...

in Paris. In 2004, Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume,

Centre national de la photographie The Centre national de la photographie is a French association managed by the Ministry of Culture, dedicated to photography and contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced f ...

and Patrimoine Photographique merged to form the Association Jeu de Paume.Jeu De Paume
",

Saatchi Gallery The Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art and an independent charity opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985. Exhibitions which drew upon the collection of Charles Saatchi, starting with US artists and minimalism, moving to the ...

. Accessed 24 November 2014.

History

The rectangular building was constructed in 1861 at the request of

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

. Napoleon III tasked Charles Delahaye to oversee the construction of the building and he commissioned

Hector-Martin Lefuel Hector-Martin Lefuel (; 14 November 1810 – 31 December 1880) was a French architect, best known for his work on the Palais du Louvre, including Napoleon III's Louvre expansion and the reconstruction of the Pavillon de Flore. Early life and t ...

as the architect. It was designed for ''

jeu de paume ''Jeu de paume'' (, ; originally spelled ; ), nowadays known as real tennis, (US) court tennis or (in France) ''courte paume'', is a ball-and-court game that originated in France. It was an indoor precursor of tennis played without racquets, ...

'', which nowadays is known as

real tennis Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis (also called "lawn tennis") is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United Sta ...

, court tennis or royal tennis, but its exterior complemented the already-existing ''

Orangerie An orangery or orangerie is a room or dedicated building, historically where orange and other fruit trees are protected during the winter, as a large form of greenhouse or conservatory. In the modern day an orangery could refer to either ...

'' building. In 1877, Delahaye commissioned Virant to design a second court on the East side of the building. However, as tennis supplanted ''jeu de paume'' as a sport, the Jeu de Paume proved an inadequate space and was transformed into a gallery in 1909. When the

Musée du Luxembourg The () is a museum at 19 in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. Established in 1750, it was initially an art museum located in the east wing of the Luxembourg Palace (the matching west wing housed the Marie de' Medici cycle by Peter Paul Rubens) an ...

opened its doors to foreign schools of painting at the end of the 19th century, the works it sponsored became important enough to require a separate exhibition space, and in 1909 the Jeu de Paume re-opened as a gallery with the "One hundred portraits of women from the 18th-century English and French Schools" exhibition. Operating first as an extension of the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

and

Musée de l'Orangerie The Musée de l'Orangerie () is an art gallery of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings located in the west corner of the Tuileries Garden next to the Place de la Concorde in Paris. The museum is most famous as the permanent home of ...

, it became an independent gallery from 1922, showing country and/or artist-themed expositions mostly modern foreign works. The gallery shifted towards an

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

style with the 1937 Exposition Internationale and an "Origins and development of Independent International Art" show organised by

Jean Cassou Jean Cassou (; 9 July 1897 – 15 January 1986) was a French writer, art critic, poet, member of the French Resistance during World War II and the first Director of the Musée national d'Art moderne in Paris. Biography Jean Cassou was born at ...

Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

Braque Georges Braque ( ; ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century French painter, collagist, draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his alliance with Fauvism from 1905, and the role he play ...

Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

and

Léger Leger or Léger may refer to: People * Léger (surname), a list of people with the surname Léger or Leger * Leodegar or Leger (615-679), Chalcedonian saint, martyr and Bishop of Autun * Leger Djime (born 1987), Chadian footballer * Leger Douz ...

Nazi sorting house

Jeu de Paume was used from 1940 to 1944 to store

Nazi plunder Nazi plunder () was organized stealing of art and other items which occurred as a result of the Art theft and looting during World War II, organized looting of European countries during the time of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, Germany. Jewi ...

looted by the

regime In politics, a regime (also spelled régime) is a system of government that determines access to public office, and the extent of power held by officials. The two broad categories of regimes are democratic and autocratic. A key similarity acros ...

Reichsleiter Rosenberg Taskforce The Reichsleiter Rosenberg Taskforce ( or ''ERR'') was a Nazi Party organization dedicated to appropriating cultural property during the Second World War. It was led by the chief ideologue of the Nazi Party, Alfred Rosenberg, from within the NSD ...

(ERR) in France. These works included masterpieces from the collections of French Jewish families like the

Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "to the red shield", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by signs ...

s, the

David-Weill David-Weill is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * David David-Weill (1871–1952), French-American banker * Jean David-Weill (1898–1972), French epigrapher *Michel David-Weill (1932–2022), French investment banker * Pierre Dav ...

s, the Bernheims,Hector Feliciano (10 July 1991)
New Flair for Two Old Museums
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

''. and noted dealers including Paul Rosenberg who specialised in impressionist and post-impressionist works.

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...

commanded that the loot would first be divided between

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

and himself. For this reason, from the end of 1940 to the end of 1942 he traveled twenty times to Paris. At Jeu de Paume, art dealer

Bruno Lohse Wilhelm Peter Bruno Lohse (17 September 1911 – 19 March 2007) was a German art dealer and SS-Hauptsturmführer who, during World War II, became the chief art looter in Paris for Hermann Göring, helping the Nazi leader amass a vast collection ...

staged 20 expositions of the newly looted art objects, especially for Göring, from which Göring selected at least 594 pieces for his own collection; the rest was destined for the

Führermuseum The ''Führermuseum'' or ''Fuhrer-Museum'' (English language, English: Leader's Museum), also referred to as the Linz art gallery, was an unrealized art museum within a cultural complex planned by Adolf Hitler for his hometown, the Austrian ci ...

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

. So called '' degenerate art'' (modern art "unworthy" in the eyes of the Nazis) was legally banned from entering Germany, and so once designated was held in what was called the Martyr's Room at the Jeu de Paume. Much of Paul Rosenberg's professional dealership and personal collection were subsequently so designated by the Nazis. Following

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...

's earlier private decree to sell these degenerate works for foreign currency to fund the building of the Führermuseum and the wider war effort, Goering personally appointed a series of ERR-approved dealers including

Hildebrand Gurlitt Hildebrand Gurlitt (15 September 1895 – 9 November 1956) was a German art historian and art gallery director who dealt in Nazi-looted art as one of Hitler's and Goering's four authorized dealers for " degenerate art". A Nazi-associated art dea ...

to liquidate these assets and then pass the funds to swell his personal art collection. With much of the looted degenerate art sold onwards via

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, Rosenberg's collection was scattered across Europe. Unsold art (including works by Picasso and Dalí) was destroyed in a bonfire on the grounds of the Jeu de Paume on the night of 27 July 1942, an act of almost unparalleled vandalism. However, the Nazis had burned nearly 4000 works of German "degenerate" art in Berlin in 1939.

French resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

curator

Rose Valland Rose Antonia Maria Valland (1 November 1898 – 18 September 1980) was a French curator, art curator, member of the French Resistance, captain in the Military of France, French military, and one of the most decorated women in French history. She ...

, who was working at the museum, kept a secret list of all the works passing through, and after the Nazi defeat in 1945 most of these works were thereby returned to their rightful owners. Today, some 70 of Rosenberg's paintings are missing, including: the large Picasso watercolor ''Naked Woman on the Beach'', painted in Provence in 1923; seven works by Matisse; and the ''Portrait of Gabrielle Diot'' by

Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French people, French Impressionism, Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, Print ...

Post-war museum

Between 1947 and 1986, it contained the Musée du Jeu de Paume, an offshoot of the

that held many important

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

works now housed in the

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) () is a museum in Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mai ...

. Widely considered as the "most famous museum of impressionist painting in the world",Eunice Lipton (4 January 2005)
The youth of today
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. the rooms bore names such as Salle Degas, Salle Cézanne or Salle Monet.Ginger Danto (3 February 1991)
For New Art, a Building Drenched in Art History
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. From 1989, as part of the

Grands Projets of François Mitterrand The Grands Projets of François Mitterrand (variants: Grands Travaux or Grands Projets Culturels ; officially: Grandes Opérations d'Architecture et d'Urbanisme ) was an architectural programme to provide modern monuments in Paris, the city of mo ...

, the building underwent a $10 million renovation by architect

Antoine Stinco Antoine Stinco (9 January 1934 – 14 February 2023) was a French architect who specialized in the construction and renovation of museums and exhibition rooms. Early years Stinco was born in Tunis, Tunisia, and studied at the École nationale ...

, resulting in about 1180 square metres (12,700 square feet) of exhibition space spread across three floors. The formerly walled-in reception hall was transformed into an atrium-like open area flooded with natural light from large bay windows, allowing views of the neighboring

, and

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...

. The top floor features a series of galleries lit by skylights.

Present

In 1991, the Jeu de Paume reopened as "France's first national gallery of contemporary art", with an exhibition devoted to

Jean Dubuffet Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet (; 31 July 1901 – 12 May 1985) was a French Painting, painter and sculpture, sculptor of the School of Paris, École de Paris (School of Paris). His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so-called "low art" a ...

. Subsequent retrospectives were dedicated to international artists such as

Marcel Broodthaers Marcel Broodthaers (28 January 1924 – 28 January 1976) was a Belgian poet, filmmaker, and visual artist. Early life Broodthaers was born on 28 January 1924 in Brussels, Belgium. Career Broodthaers was briefly associated with the surrealist ...

(1991),

Robert Gober Robert Gober (born September 12, 1954) is an American sculptor. His work is often related to domestic and familiar objects such as sinks, doors, and legs. Early life and education Gober was born in Wallingford, Connecticut.Ellsworth Kelly Ellsworth Kelly (May 31, 1923 – December 27, 2015) was an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker associated with hard-edge painting, Color field painting and minimalism. His works demonstrate unassuming techniques emphasizing line, col ...

(1992), Helio Oiticica (1992), and

Eva Hesse Eva Hesse (January 11, 1936 – May 29, 1970) was a German-born American sculptor known for her pioneering work in materials such as latex, fiberglass, and plastics. She is one of the artists who ushered in the postminimal art movement in the 196 ...

(1993). In 1999, the museum chose American architect

Richard Meier Richard Meier (born October 12, 1934) is an American abstract artist and architect, whose geometric designs make prominent use of the color white. A winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1984, Meier has designed several iconic buildings ...

as the subject of its first-ever architectural exhibition. In 2004, Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, Centre National de la Photographie and Patrimoine Photographique merged to form the Association de Préfiguration for the Etablissement Public (EPIC) Jeu de Paume. It has since developed into a centre for modern and postmodern photography and media, mounting survey exhibitions on

Ed Ruscha Edward Joseph Ruscha IV (, ''roo-SHAY''; born December 16, 1937) is an American artist associated with the anti- pop art movement. He has worked in the media of painting, printmaking, drawing, photography, and film. He is also noted for creating s ...

(2006),

Cindy Sherman Cynthia Morris Sherman (born January 19, 1954) is an American artist whose work consists primarily of photographic self-portraits, depicting herself in many different contexts and as various imagined characters. Her breakthrough work is often co ...

(2006),

Martin Parr Martin Parr (born 23 May 1952) is a British documentary photographer, photojournalist and photobook collector. He is known for his photographic projects that take an intimate, satirical and anthropological look at aspects of modern life, in p ...

(2009),

William Kentridge William Kentridge (born 28 April 1955) is a South African artist best known for his prints, drawings, and animated films. He is especially noted for a sequence of hand-drawn animated films he produced during the 1990s, constructed by filming ...

(2010),

Claude Cahun Claude Cahun (, born Lucy Renee Mathilde Schwob; 25 October 1894 – 8 December 1954) was a French surrealist photographer, sculptor, and writer. Schwob adopted the pseudonym Claude Cahun in 1914. Cahun is best known as a writer and self-portra ...

(2011),

Lorna Simpson Lorna Simpson (born August 13, 1960) is an American photographer and multimedia artist whose works have been exhibited both nationally and internationally. In 1990, she became one of the first African-American women to exhibit at the Venice Bien ...

(2013),

Valérie Jouve Valérie Jouve (born December 27, 1964, in Saint-Étienne, France) is a contemporary French photographer, video artist, and director. Biography After studying anthropology, Valérie Jouve began pursuing a career as a photographer. Her work refer ...

(2015) among others. In 2016, it received the anthological solo exhibition of contemporary photograph

Helena Almeida Helena Almeida (11 April 1934 – 25 September 2018) was a Portuguese artist known for her work in photography, performance art, body art, painting and drawing. She represented Portugal at the Venice Biennale in 1982 and 2005 and had a solo e ...

. On 27 April 2005, a plaque honoring the work of Rose Valland to catalogue looted art during the Nazi occupation was placed on the south wall of the Jeu de Paume. On 1 December 2018 the museum was torched in politically related mob violence as the Tuileries Gardens were stormed by protestors. Today, the Jeu de Paume is subsidised by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication. Attendance increased from 200,000 visitors in 2006 to over 320,000 visitors in 2008.About the Jeu de Paume
Official Website.

In popular culture

The museum's wartime history has been depicted, heavily fictionalized, several times on film. In

John Frankenheimer John Michael Frankenheimer (February 19, 1930 – July 6, 2002) was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films. Among his credits are ''Birdman of Alcatraz (film), Birdman of Alcatraz'', ''The Manc ...

's 1964 film '' The Train'', starring

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor. Initially known for playing tough characters with tender hearts, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-year caree ...

and

Jeanne Moreau Jeanne Moreau (; 23 January 1928 – 31 July 2017) was a French actress, singer, screenwriter, director, and socialite. She made her theatrical debut in 1947, and established herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comédie-Française. Mo ...

is represented as Mademoiselle Villard, played by

Suzanne Flon Suzanne Flon (28 January 1918 – 15 June 2005) was a French people, French stage, film, and television actress. She won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress for her performance in the 1961 film ''Tu ne tueras point, Thou Shalt Not Kill''. Flon also re ...

. In

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and philanthropist. Known for his leading man roles on screen in both blockbuster and independent films, Clooney has received numerous accolades, including two Ac ...

's 2014 film ''

The Monuments Men ''The Monuments Men'' is a 2014 war film directed by George Clooney, and written and produced by Clooney and Grant Heslov. The film stars an ensemble cast including Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hu ...

'', Valland is represented as Claire Simone, played by

Cate Blanchett Catherine Élise Blanchett ( ; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor and producer. Regarded as one of the best performers of her generation, she is recognised for Cate Blanchett on screen and stage, her versatile work across stage and scre ...

. In

Anatole Litvak Anatoly Mikhailovich Litvak (10 May 1902 – 15 December 1974), commonly known as Anatole Litvak, was a Russian-American filmmaker. Born to Jewish parents in Kiev, he began his theatrical training at age 13 in Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg, ...

's 1967 film ''

The Night of the Generals ''The Night of the Generals'' is a 1967 World War II mystery film directed by Anatole Litvak and produced by Sam Spiegel. It stars Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Tom Courtenay, Donald Pleasence, Joanna Pettet, and Philippe Noiret. The screenpla ...

'', Peter O'Toole's character General Tanz visits the museum and is transfixed by a self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh, referenced as "Vincent In Flames". In

Sara Houghteling Sara Houghteling (born 1977) is an American novelist and educator. Biography She was born in 1977 and graduated from Harvard magna cum laude in 1999. She received her Master's in Fine Arts in creative writing from the University of Michigan in ...

's novel ''Pictures at an Exhibition'' (2009), the character of Rose Clément is based on Rose Valland. In

Ruth Reichl Ruth Reichl ( ; born 1948) is an American chef, food writer and editor. In addition to two decades as a food critic, mainly spent at the ''Los Angeles Times'' and ''The New York Times'', Reichl has also written cookbooks, memoirs and a novel, and ...

's novel ''The Paris Novel'' (2024), Rose Valland's war efforts are mentioned several times.

Architecture

The Jeu de Paume was designed by architect Melchior Viraut in the

Second Empire style Second Empire style, also known as the Napoleon III style, is a highly Eclecticism in architecture, eclectic style of architecture and decorative arts originating in the Second French Empire. It was characterized by elements of many differe ...

and has many classical architectural features, such as semi-fluted

ionic column The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite o ...

s and a decorative tympanum with Napoleon's coat of arms. Unique to the Jeu De Paume is the letter "N" above the entrance of the building. Along the sides of the building are large arched windows to allow for light to enter the court areas. The interior was completely renovated in 1989 by

to make the space more suited to exhibiting art. Stinco said his goal was to create a space that would not compete with the artwork, but that would allow at least a glimpse of the views of the gardens and beyond.

References

External links

*
"The Jeu de Paume and the Looting of France"
– The Project for the Documentation of Wartime Losses. Cultural Property Research Foundation, Inc. {{Authority control Art museums and galleries in Paris Defunct real tennis venues Buildings and structures in the 1st arrondissement of Paris Sports venues completed in 1861 Museums established in 1947 1947 establishments in France 1861 establishments in France Photography museums and galleries in France