View of the artificial “mountain” erected for the Feast of the Supreme Being at the Champ-de-Mars, June 8, 1794 (20 Prairial Year 2)

This revolutionary festival was held on 20 Prarial in the Year II (June 8, 1794). Instituted by Maximilien Robespierre and influenced by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, it founded a religion based on a Supreme Being that advocated virtue, glorified nature and intended to replace Christianity.

Field kit belonging to Napoleon I. Work instruments.

Travel cases fascinate with their ingenious fittings. The one belonging to Napoleon I contains 109 items that fold and unfold inside a box of modest dimensions. The simplicity of the lines creating a visual unity among the objects is also admirable. Crystal and vermeil are the dominant tones....

Au café, dit l'Absinthe

The genre scenes by Jean Béraud provide a delicate portrait of Parisian society. These compositions are a veritable urban chronicle made from on-the-spot sketches. They describe daily life in Paris at the turn of the twentieth century—on the boulevards, in cafés and theaters, along elegant...

Portrait of Louis XIV (1643-1715)

This statue of Louis XIV on foot is one of the rare monumental effigies of the Sun King that escaped destruction during the French Revolution. Made by Antoine Coysevox, it shows the sculptor’s talent as a portraitist, a specialty upon which his reputation was based. When he was given this...

Crib of the Imperial Prince Louis-Napoléon (1856-1879)

On March 13, 1856, the Emperor and Empress requested the exhibition of a magnificent cradle, to be shown to the public in the Throne Room at city hall. Parisians thronged to get a glimpse of it. Two days later, the cradle was transported to the Tuileries, and the Imperial Prince was born in...

Press

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Letter from Madame de Sévigné to Madame de Grignan, her daughter

Presented in the Madame de Sévigné Room of the Carnavalet Museum in 1912, this handwritten note is exceedingly rare, since most of the letters from the marchioness to her daughter were destroyed. The correspondence of Madame de Sévigné—nearly 1,372 letters have been inventoried—exists...

Teachers and activity leaders

The Musée Carnavalet – Histoire de Paris is committed to working with teachers and activity leaders to make visiting the museum a privileged opportunity for learning and sharing.

As part of this, the Musée Carnavalet – Histoire de Paris offers training, get-togethers and...

Madame de Sévigné