Le musée des monuments français

After ten years of works, the Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine has finally come out. Even though it intends to stick to the most recent events in architectural creation, its foundations are rooted in the XIXth century. It was the the museum of French Monuments, the work of Alexandre Lenoir following the Revolution, then the museum of compared sculpture, inspired from Viollet-le-Duc, which at the moment of its creation in 1882 occupied the two wings of the palais du Trocadéro. It was designed as a repertoire of the forms from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, saved under the form of castings b worthy artisans. The latter, from Jean Pouzadoux to Paul Landowski, receive a well deserved tribute. Directed by Paul Deschamps (from 1937 to 1961), the perfect copy is also made of the frescoes. The fire of 1997 damaged certain of these creations but most of all gave the opportunity to refound the museum. To those who were fascinated by the anachronic dimension of its predecessor, this work offers a nostalgic promenade.

• Le musée des monuments français, directed by Léon Pressouyre, published jointly with the Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine / Nicolas Chaudun, 2007, ISBN : 2-35039-030-7, 200 p., 49 €