The Grand Palais, Paris
What do Guillaume Apollinaire, Karl Lagerfeld, Prince and Thomas Dutronc have in common? Answer – they are all great admirers of the Grand Palais’ architecture. Built for the Universal Exhibition in 1900, it was classified as a historic monument in 2000. Situated in the very heart of Paris on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, it is particularly famous for its glass roof, the largest in Europe.
What dreams are made of…
Grand Palais statistics:
- 72,000 m2 total floor area
- 13,500 m2 floor area in the Nave
- 450,000 m3 air volume in the Nave
- 8,500 tonnes of metal in the whole Grand Palais
- 60 tonnes of “mignonette green” paint in the Nave
- 200,000 tonnes of stone
- 1,500 construction workers on site in 1900
Because we believe in culture in the broadest sense of the term, our programme is a mixture of fine arts, fashion, photography, music, dance, cinema, theatre, and even sport. In the past year we have collaborated with the Met, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, FIAC, Paris Photo, Red Bull, Ludéric Evènement, Chanel, Radio FG, and MK2, among others. In short, the Grand Palais responds to its 2 million visitors each year in all their diversity and different needs.
The Musée du Luxembourg, Paris
The Musée du Luxembourg is a delightful museum tucked away in the heart of the Latin Quarter. With 400,000 annual visitors, it is managed by us on behalf of its true custodian, the Senate. It was initially set up in the Palais du Luxembourg, which was built for Queen Marie de Medici in 1630. It became the first museum open to the public in 1750. The history continues today, with two exhibitions annually on specific themes, for example: “The Renaissance in Europe”, “Art and Power”, and “The Palace, the Garden and the Museum: the Luxembourg in the Heart of Paris, the Capital of the Arts”.
In 2010 the museum was renovated by the architects Shigeru Ban and Jean de Gastines, who recently completed the Centre Pompidou Metz. We liked their aesthetic and environmentally friendly approach to the project, with installations designed out of cardboard tubes – for us, a way to make a small gesture on behalf of the planet.
Partner museums
As cultural life is not restricted to Paris, we are happy to work on a regular basis with some twenty museums in France, spread widely across the country, as you will see from the following list :
Musée de Cluny – Musée national du Moyen Âge, Paris (The National Museum of the Middle Ages)
Musée national de la Renaissance, Château d’Ecouen
Musée d’archéologie nationale, Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Musées des Châteaux de Malmaison et de Bois-Préau (dedicated to Napoleonic history)
Musée national de Port-Royal des Champs, Magny-les-Hameaux (history of Jansenism and Port-Royal)
Musées et Domaine nationaux de Compiègne, Château de Compiègne
Musée de la Coopération franco-américaine, Château de Blérancourt
Musée Magnin, Dijon
Musée National des Deux Victoires Clemenceau-de Lattre, Mouilleron-en-Pareds (dedicated to two of France’s best-known political and military figures)
Musée national Napoléonien, Ile d’Aix
Musée de la Maison Bonaparte, Ajaccio
Musée national de Préhistoire, Les-Eyzies-de-Tayac
Musée national du Château de Pau
Musée national Marc Chagall, Nice
Musée national Fernand Léger, Biot
Musée national Picasso. La Guerre et La Paix (housing the painting War and Peace)