NEW YORK, NY.- Artsy, the art education and collecting resource, is honored to present an educational feature that brings together, for the first time, images of artworks from 21 landmark museums in France on a free, publicly-accessible online platform. Museums including Muse du Louvre, Runion des Muses Nationaux Grand Palais (RMN-GP), Fondation Cartier, Muse du Quai Branly, Palais de Tokyo, Muse Rodin, Muse Magnin, and Muse national de Prhistoire have contributed images of artworks from their collections and exhibitions to be published in “Museums of France,” a special feature that goes live today on Artsy.net and the Artsy iPhone app. (See below for the complete list of participating institutions.)
Organized with the generous support of the Runion des Muses Nationaux Grand Palais, the national organization of French museums, “Museums of France” is the first joint digital initiative of this nature and scale by French art institutions. “The Runion des Muses Nationaux - Grand Palais is delighted to partner with Artsy in this online, interactive project advocating the collections and heritage of French museums, exposing them to a large public audience around the globe,” says Roei Amit, Head of Digital at RMN-GP.
“Museums of France” showcases the depth and range of French artistic culture, from contemporary art and architecture to historical artworks and artifacts. Highlights include both the iconic masterpieces and important lesser-known works on view at the major museums as well as regional museums across France. Some examples of artists featured include Gustave Moreau, Auguste Rodin, Jacques-Louis David, Guillermo Kuitca, Juergen Teller, Garry Winogrand, Niki de Saint Phalle, and David Maljković.
“It is an incredible honor that 21 of France’s most important art museums have contributed images from their exhibitions and collections to share with Artsy’s audience of art lovers from more than 190 countries,” says Christine Kuan, Chief Curator and Director of Strategic Partnerships at Artsy. “It is also a testament to Artsy’s world-class engineering and design as we build a digital platform worthy of fine art.”
Artsy is an art and technology company with the mission to make all the world's art accessible to anyone with an Internet connection. A free resource for both learning about and collecting art, Artsy invests heavily in editorial content with educational value and is building a comprehensive database of artists and artworks. Artsy brings together content from the world’s leading museums, galleries, foundations, art fairs, and artists' estates and makes that content easy to discover and enjoy through The Art Genome Project, the classification system that powers Artsy, and sophisticated engineering and user experience design.
Participating Museums
• Fondation Cartier Located in the heart of Paris in a stunning glass building designed by Jean Nouvel, Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain collects and exhibits the works of international contemporary artists.
• Fondation d'Enterprise Galeries Lafayette Launched in October 2013 to support young artists and their projects. The Fondation will open in 2016 in the Marais neighborhood in a 19th-century building renovated by OMA.
• Jeu de Paume An arts center with a strong reputation for exhibiting and promoting all forms of mechanical and electronic imagery.
• Muse d'Archologie national et domaine national de Saint-Germain-en-Laye Leading museum of archaeology, with a rich collection of artifacts from pre-historic times to the Merovingian period.
• Muse de Cluny One of the most extensive collections of French art from the Middles Ages.
• Muse du Louvre One of the largest and most prestigious art collections in the world, the Muse du Louvre has been a leading institution since its inception in 1793. Iconic masterpieces include the statue of Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, and Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa.
• Muses et domaine nationaux du palais de Compigne Home of Louis XV and then Louis XVI, the chteau was later restored by Napolon III, who filled the royal apartments with furniture and artworks from the Second Empire.
• Muse franco-amrican du chteau de Blrancourt Houses a collection of artworks and archives that documents the political and social relations between France and America.
• Muse Gustave Moreau Established in the artist’s family home, the museum houses hundreds of paintings, sketches, and studies by the artist, as well as works of art offered by friends such as Thodore Chassriau, Eugne Fromentin and Edgar Degas.
• Muse Magnin Italian and Northern European art, as well 16th- through 19th-century French art.
• Muse Malmaison The former home of Empress Josphine, known for its collection of art related to the lives of Napolon Bonaparte, Josphine, and their children Eugne and Hortense.
• Muse national de la maison Bonaparte Restored and furnished by Napoleon III, Napolon's birthplace is now a historical museum dedicated to Napolon Bonaparte and his siblings.
• Muse national de la Renaissance Built in the sixteenth-century, the Chateau d'couen is one of France's major architectural achievements. Now houses decorative arts from the European Renaissance.
• Muses de l'le d'Aix The home of Napolon Bonaparte before his exile to Saint Helena, and the Muse Africain, which displays Baron Gourgaud's zoological collections.
• Muse du quai Branly Collections of objects from African, Asian, Oceanian and American civilizations.
• Muse national de Prhistoire The Muse national de Prhistoire is situated in the Vezre valley, a region known for its major archaeological sites (Lascaux, Font-de-Gaume, Comparelles), and houses a rich collection of objects from 400,000 BC to 10,000 BC.
• Muse national des arts asiatiques - Guimet - One of the largest collections of Asian Art in Europe, spanning across Egypt, Greece, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia..
• Muse national et domaine du chteau de Pau Furniture and decorative objects from the July Monarchy and the Second Empire, as well as one of the best collections of royal tapestries from the 16th through 19th centuries.
• Muse Rodin A peaceful oasis in the center of Paris, the Muse Rodin presents the masterpieces of Auguste Rodin at the Hotel Biron and its surrounding gardens. Iconic works include "The Thinker" and "The Kiss.
• Palais de Tokyo A 21st-century cultural institution with a public service mission, the Palais de Tokyo is a place where today’s artists and different sectors of the public can explore the emergence of groundbreaking ways of doing things, thinking, and living.
• RMN Grand Palais The official organization for the national museums of France. The Grand Palais in Paris is the iconic monument of the Rmn-GP, where the organization showcases its biggest exhibitions.
