Musée des Arts Décoratifs

The Musée des Arts Décoratifs is a museum in Paris, France, dedicated to the exhibition and preservation of the decorative arts and design. Located in the 1st arrondissement at 107 Rue de Rivoli, it occupies the Pavillon de Marsan, the northwestern wing of the Palais du Louvre. The institution holds one of the most significant collections of its kind in the world, with sources documenting its holdings at approximately 150,000 to over 1.5 million objects and artifacts, making it the largest museum of decorative arts in continental Europe. It is operated by the non-profit arts association MAD, originally founded in 1882, which also oversees the Musée Nissim de Camondo and the École Camondo. The museum's mission is to maintain the culture of the arts that pursue the realization of the beautiful in the useful, tracing the evolution of French taste and artistic production from the Middle Ages to contemporary design.

The museum's origins trace back to 1864, when industrialists founded the Union centrale des Beaux Arts appliqués à l'industrie, modeled on the South Kensington Museum in London, to promote French decorative arts. An initial small collection and library opened shortly after, moving to the Place des Vosges in 1875 to provide free, late-night access for artists and workers. In 1882, this group merged with the Société du musée des Arts décoratifs, formed by aristocrats and politicians, to create the Union centrale des Arts décoratifs (UCAD). After the French Senate rejected a site on the Quai d'Orsay, the state granted the UCAD the Marsan wing and pavilion in 1898. Following architectural modifications by Gaston Redon, the museum opened on May 29, 1905, in the presence of President Émile Loubet, with the agreement that the collection would pass to state ownership after 15 years. The museum closed from 1938 to 1944 during the German occupation, with objects evacuated to Loire Valley castles for safety. In 1978, the UCAD established the Musée de la Publicité, which moved into the Marsan wing in 1990. A major renovation closed the museum from 1996 to 2006, costing 35 million euros, after which it reopened on September 15, 2006. In January 2016, the institution adopted the popular acronym MAD, standing for mode, arts, design, to reflect its broadened focus. Pierre-Alexis Dumas was elected president of the association in 2015.

The museum's vast holdings encompass every aspect of artistic production in the decorative arts, representing a wide range of techniques including woodwork, metalwork, ceramics, glasswork, leatherwork, painting, and humbler arts like straw marquetry and bead embroidery. The collections are organized into five chronological departments spanning the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the 17th and 18th centuries, the 19th century, Art Nouveau and Art Deco, and Modern and Contemporary design. These are complemented by thematic departments dedicated to graphic arts, jewelry, toys, wallpaper, and glassware, with fashion, textile, and advertising collections also integrated into the institution. A significant portion of the collection has been formed through historical donations and bequests, including contributions from Peyre, Guérin, Maciet, Vever, and David David-Weill, which reflect the evolving tastes of collectors over time. Approximately 6,000 objects are presented to the public at any given time.

The museum's holdings range from 13th-century European artifacts to contemporary design, with a primary strength in French furniture, tableware, carpets from Aubusson, and porcelain from the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres. Glass pieces by René Lalique and Émile Gallé feature prominently, alongside significant Art Nouveau and Art Deco works by designers such as Eileen Gray, Charlotte Perriand, and Camille Fauré. The 19th-century department holds complete Empire and Restoration furniture sets, royal furniture deposited by the Mobilier national, and the monumental Surtout des cent couverts of Napoleon III by Christofle. The jewelry collection comprises about 4,000 objects, including the 700-piece 19th-century Vever collection. Period rooms are a major highlight, allowing visitors to experience recreated historical interiors. These include part of Jeanne Lanvin's house decorated by Albert-Armand Rateau in the early 1920s, graphic artist Eugène Grasset's 1880 dining room, the 1752 Gold Cabinet of Avignon, and the 1875 bedroom of courtesan Lucie Émilie Delabigne, the purported inspiration for Émile Zola's Nana. A distinctive ceiling once owned by Jeanne Baptiste d'Albert de Luynes, mistress of the Duke of Savoy, is also preserved.

The museum is situated in the northwestern part of the Louvre Palace, stretching through the Marsan wing to the Pavillon de Marsan at the extreme northwest, and is accessible via its own entrance at the Pavillon de Rohan on the Rue de Rivoli. The site covers nearly 9,000 square meters across nine floors. The Marsan wing was originally commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1806, with architects Charles Percier and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine tasked with connecting the Palais des Tuileries to the old Louvre palace. The Pavillon de Marsan served as the connecting piece to the Tuileries. The structures were severely damaged by fire during the Paris Commune uprising in 1871 but were subsequently rebuilt between 1875 and 1878. Architect Gaston Redon later modified the space to accommodate the museum before its 1905 opening.

The Musée des Arts Décoratifs is located at 107 Rue de Rivoli in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. It is operated by the private arts association MAD and recorded 901,593 visitors in 2022. The institution has a history of mounting influential exhibitions, such as the 1966 show Les Années '25: Art Déco/Bauhaus/Stijl Esprit Nouveau, organized by curator Yvonne Brunhammer, which coined the term Art Déco. More recently, the museum partnered with the Loewe Foundation in 2021 to exhibit finalists for the Loewe Craft Prize, won by Fanglu Lin. The museum presents about ten temporary exhibitions each year alongside its permanent displays, and tickets can be purchased in advance through its online ticket office. Christine Macel served as executive director, with Bénédicte Gady appointed to the position starting in 2025.