Musée Lambinet

The Musée Lambinet is the municipal museum of art and history of Versailles, France, located at 54 boulevard de la Reine in the Notre-Dame quarter. Housed since 1932 in an 18th-century hôtel particulier, the museum traces the history of the city through collections that span from the 17th to the 20th century. Classified as a monument historique since 1944 and accredited as a Musée de France in 2004, it serves as a key institution for understanding Versailles beyond its royal palace, combining fine arts, decorative arts, and local historical documentation.

The museum's building was constructed in 1752 for Joseph-Barnabé Porchon, entrepreneur of the Bâtiments du Roi under Louis XV, on land that had previously formed part of the étang de Clagny, drained in 1737. The Lambinet family, originally from eastern France, established themselves in Versailles as cloth merchants and tailors. Victor Lambinet, son of Jean-François Lambinet (mayor of Versailles in 1848), purchased the hôtel in 1852 and occupied it from 1859. His daughter-in-law, Nathalie Chevassus, assembled collections and received an important donation of works from Charles Vatel in 1883. After the deaths of her father-in-law, husband, and son Pierre in 1911, Nathalie Lambinet bequeathed the building and collections in 1929 to Messieurs Dagincourt and Dénériaz, charging them with transforming it into a museum. In 1932, the city transferred works previously held at the municipal library, formerly the Ministry of the Navy and Foreign Affairs under Louis XV and Louis XVI, to establish the Musée Lambinet. The museum underwent scenographic revisions in the 1980s and early 2000s, closed for renovation from 18 April to 18 September 2010, and reopened on 3 December 2022 after a three-year campaign of works.

The museum holds approximately 500 works, with a catalogue of 542 paintings plus 8 deposited at the municipal library and 2 at the hôtel de ville. Its collections cover French history, the history of Versailles, and the French Revolution across three levels. The ground floor presents donor collections that have enriched the museum's holdings. The first floor features a reconstructed bourgeois apartment from the mid-18th century, including a bedroom, boudoir, and rooms displaying baroque clocks and commodes by major ébén makers. The second floor presents the history of the city from the 17th to the 20th century. The collections include stamped furniture, ceramics, objets d'art, historic plans of the town, and works by artists connected to Versailles. Notable objects include scripting rare surviving croziers from abbeys founded by Queen Blanche of Castille, and a harp by Jean-Henri Naderman, luthier to Queen Marie-Antoinette. Revolutionary-era documents include portraits of Charlotte Corday and Marat, donated by Charles-Joseph Vatel, lawyer and historian and uncle of Victor Lambinet. Later donations include those from the heirs of actress Julia Bartet, sociétaire of the Comédie-Française, in 1942, and in 2004 the bequest of Fernande and Marcel Guy's collection of Post-Impressionist paintings and drawings.

The museum's collections prominently feature works by Jean-Antoine Houdon, the renowned Versailles sculptor. The 2004 bequest of Fernande and Marcel Guy added significant Post-Impressionist paintings and drawings, including works by Paul Signac, Maximilien Luce, and Maxime Maufra. In October 2025, the museum presented a temporary exhibition, 'Passion post-impressionniste, histoire d'une collection,' dedicated to this Guy collection. The museum also preserves copper plates used for printing Toile de Jouy fabrics.

The hôtel particulier was designed by architect Élie Blanchard and built in the second half of the 18th century. Its garden façade features a sculpted pediment with an allegory of architecture represented by putti: two support a scroll while a third draws a plan with a compass, recalling Porchon's role as builder. The façade, roof, and the Salon doré on the first floor were classified as monuments historiques in 1944. The museum comprises 35 rooms, some retaining their original period paneling. The building includes a small formal garden (jardin à la française) and, following recent renovations, an auditorium seating 60.

The Musée Lambinet is located at 54 boulevard de la Reine in Versailles, Yvelines, and is owned by the municipality of Versailles. It presents permanent collections and temporary exhibitions. Following its reopening on 3 December 2022, the museum participates in territorial and national events. During the 2023 Nuit des Musées on 13 May, entry was free with activities including harp concerts, creative workshops, and flash visits. On 21 June 2023, a concert was held before the museum façade for the Fête de la musique with DJ Alex Moster. In summer 2023, visitors could use the museum's public garden with deck chairs. The museum's website is https://www.versailles.fr/51/culture/musee-lambinet.htm.