Façade et jardin du musée Maurice Denis

Maurice Denis Museum

In Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the Maurice Denis museum presents an original collection devoted to symbolist and nabis painters, post-impressionists and the Pont-Aven group.

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Description

The Maurice Denis Museum conceals a dense history in the maze of its vaulted corridors and gives pride of place to the Symbolist and Nabis painters whose works are revealed as you travel along.

Today classified as a historical monument, this imposing building built at the end of the 17th century at the request of Madame de Montespan was then a royal general hospital that welcomed the needy. In 1914 Maurice Denis acquired this building where he already had a studio in the garden. He restored it, named it "Le Prieuré" and lived there with his family until the end of his life.

Maurice Denis and the Nabis painters

The museum's initial collection was constituted by an exceptional donation made in 1976 by Maurice Denis' family. Since then, it has been enriched by numerous donations and acquisitions of works by Symbolist and Nabis artists, the innovative artistic movement at the crossroads of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Thus, alongside works by Maurice Denis illustrating religious and family themes, intimate scenes, or landscapes of Italy and Brittany, are exhibited, paintings by Sérusier, Bonnard, Ranson, Vuilliard,… among the artist's friends.

Don't miss the chapel of the old hospital, one of the treasures of the place. The unique décor is the most complete and characteristic religious pictorial ensemble of the artist.

The garden in which the museum is nestled on the hillside is an invitation to stroll around, offering a variety of landscapes and a rich botanical trail. Around the museum, a first level decorated with sculptures by Antoine Bourdelle, a close friend of the owner of the place, is formed by a shaded courtyard and a long terrace lined with lime and yew trees. From there, one reaches the alley of the rose garden and a vast "green theater" lined with large trees. Below, the old orchard and the vegetable garden extend, embellished with a fountain and a pond.
A stroll through this harmonious garden will give you a better understanding of the importance of nature in the work and life of the painter.

Today, the garden is the privileged setting for art workshops and open-air concerts…

A museum and a collection to be discovered without delay in the heart of Saint-Germain-en-Laye!

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Community facilities

Access and contact

2 bis, rue Maurice Denis
78100 Saint-Germain-en-Laye

    Days and opening hours

    All year round, every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Closed exceptionally on January 1st and December 25th. Tuesday to Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (rooms cleared from 12 p.m.) and from 2 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. (rooms cleared from 5 p.m.). Closing of the garden during the lunch break. Sunday, from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (clearance of rooms from 5 p.m.). Exceptional closure: January 1, May 1 and December 25. Closed every Monday including holidays.

    Prices

    • Full price: from 8 € Reduced price: from 6 €.

      • Access to collections and / or temporary exhibitions: • Full price: € 6 • Reduced price: € 4 over 60 years old, large families, groups of more than 10 people, 18-25 years old, people with disabilities • Free : under 18, teachers, beneficiaries of minimum social benefits, guides for groups and people with disabilities, tour guides, journalists, active CD78 agents and their spouses. For everyone every first Sunday of the month. Other reductions: Malin Pass, Paris Museum Pass
        GROUPS • Guided tour, from 10 participants, € 8 per person - entrance fees included • Free visit, from 10 participants, € 4 per person.

    Services

    • Educational visits
    • Tour free of charge
    • Guided tours

    Activities

    • Concert
    • Temporary exhibition
    • Shows
    • Handicrafts workshops
    • Permanent exhibition

    Tour

    Spoken languages

    • French
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    2 bis, rue Maurice Denis
    78100 Saint-Germain-en-Laye

    • Copyright image:
    • OTI SGBS 2017