The building's history

The building's history

Since 1895, when it was inaugurated, the Palais Galliera was used for various purposes before the City of Paris finally chose to dedicate it to fashion in 1977.

A 19th-century museum

The Palais Galliera is a perfect example of a late 19th-century building that harmoniously combines architectural tradition and technical innovation: an under-frame of steel supports the dressed stone face of the edifice. It was constructed by the company headed by Gustave Eiffel who is mentioned in the building permit "Locksmithing and metalworking, Mr Eiffel entrepreneur". The stairway banister, the bay windows and the railings of Square Brignole-Galliera all come from the same workshops as the Eiffel Tower…

The building, which was designed as a museum from the outset, reiterates the museological concepts of the second half of the 19th century established by Félix Duban for the Louvre: the heart of the building features the hall of honour, a large rectangular room with overhead lighting, edged on three sides by galleries opening out onto Square Galliera through semi-circular arched bay windows. The facade overlooking the garden is the main gallery, with two smaller galleries on either side. Last, but not least, a fifth room, the small salon, completes the exhibition spaces.

The walls are a muted red, the woodwork is waxed black, and the cornices are sculpted. Like the layout of the rooms, the interior design imagined by the architect epitomizes the museographic theories of the time, as described by Prosper Mérimée. The colour of the walls is quite dusky to give more brightness and radiance to the works exhibited. Paul-René-Léon Ginain called on Giandomenico Facchina to create the palace's mosaic flooring and painted ceilings. In the entrance hall, a shell-shaped niche was carved above the monumental solid-mahogany door, leading to the hall of honour, to host the bust of a generous lady donor.

The architecture

Commissioned by a philanthropist

The Palais Galliera was created by Paul-René-Léon Ginain at the request of Marie Brignole-Sale, Duchess of Galliera, to host her extensive collection of art. The desire to display paintings, sculptures and works of art to as many people as possible inspired this highly-literate woman's commission. Building began on the palace in May 1879 and was completed in February 1894.
 

In the Neo-Renaissance palace

The Palais Galliera, reigning at the heart of a garden and freely-inspired by Palladianism, features a style that was highly-popular during the 19th century, referred to as "Beaux-Arts architecture", frequently used when designing public institutions. Although the whole composition is illustrative of numerous references, the Renaissance inspiration dominates, as seen through the workmanship of the monumental bay windows – reminiscent of the Serlian bays so dear to Palladio – and through that of the facades. The Palais Galliera boasts two: one overlooking the street, the other commanding a view over the garden.

The facade on Avenue Pierre Ier de Serbie, the palace's only entrance, opens out onto the paved court of honour, and is fringed by an Ionic peristyle in the shape of a semicircle. The facade onto the garden boasts three semi-circular arched bay windows alternating with lean-to, ringed columns. Each bay window is adorned with a sculpture depicting the three major arts: Painting by Henri Chapu, Architecture by Jules Thomas and Sculpture by Pierre Cavelier. The peristyle is extended by two wings, like two porticoes unfurling along either side of the building. They stand above two flights of steps leading down to the terraces that run onto the square. Each portico features the same composition: two sculptures, one in its central niche and the other at the very end. Protection et Avenir (Protection and Future) (1893) by Honoré Icard stands in the centre, under the Western portico and dialogues with Au soir de la vie (On the Evening of Life) (1906) by Gustave Michel. In the East, l’Effort (The Effort) (1890) by Alfred Boucher takes centre stage and turns his back to the Jeune Berger (Shepherd Boy) (1894) by Alexandre Pezieux.

Below the porticoes, two bronze sculptures adorn the terraces: to the East, Faune jouant avec une panthère (Faun Playing with a Panther) (1897) by Just Becquet and, to the West, L'Enfance de Bacchus (The childhood of Bacchus) (1857) by Jean-Joseph Perraud.

From an original wish...

On 15 April 1878, the Duchess of Galliera announced that she intended to leave her collection of works of art to the French State provided that they were exhibited to the public in a museum specially built for this purpose. A museum that she offered to finance on a vast plot of land that she owned. Her demands were clear: the project would consist of a museum surrounded by a square with a thoroughfare built on either side that would, as such, create two streets named Brignole and Galliera. The museum, meanwhile, was to be named Brignole-Galliera.

On 11 July 1878, the City Council gratefully accepted the donation, and on 31 October the Duchess ratified her offer before her notary with a formal donation. However, it was specified that the Duchess would enjoy the use of the Museum building and the service buildings, whose construction she commissioned, for the rest of her life. The French State would only be able to benefit from the whole building when she died.

Unfortunately, the completion of this wonderful project led to many disappointments for the Duchess. As the palace rose from the ground, its construction was almost halted because of an issue with aligning the buildings.

Once this initial problem had been overcome, the Duchess's notary revealed a major error: he had made a mistake in notifying the recipient of the donation, mentioning the City of Paris when the duchess had wished for the French State. Her many attempts to re-establish the awarding of her donation were in vain, and, as the political climate of the times did not suit her, she made the radical decision, on 7 October 1884, to bequeath her entire art collection to the Palazzo Rosso in Genoa. As such, it would never be displayed in the palace. The Duchess kept the funds required to complete the building, which she immediately transferred to the City of Paris, which was free to use it as it wished. The death of the Duchess of Galliera on 9 December 1888 marked the end of the work, which had already progressed well and was taken over by the architect Paul-René-Léon Ginain until the building was completed on 27 February 1894.

The reaction of contemporaries was quick to follow. Although some journalists praised the Duchess's philanthropic action and approved of the square, they criticized this museum, which was often deemed too small and unsuitable for hosting large or numerous collections. Many questioned the use of this elegant palace, which was devoid of the collections it was intended to display, remaining empty like a jewel box without jewellery.

To an industrial art museum

On 19 December 1895, the fate of the museum was settled: it was inaugurated as the Musée d’Art Industriel (Industrial Art Museum). A myriad of decorative arts exhibitions was organized there, enabling the establishment to attract a public eager to discover this new art form.

At the dawning of the 20th century, art applied to industry was considered minor compared with the major arts – architecture, sculpture and painting –. To challenge this prejudice, Maurice Quentin-Bauchart asked the City of Paris to create a programme of industrial art exhibitions at the Palais Galliera. From then on, two events were organized each year: a general exhibition, in the autumn, displaying works from all the branches of applied art and a special exhibition, in the spring, devoted to the work of a single artist or to a theme-based subject.

The 1954 milestone and the "Salon des peintres témoins de leur temps"

In 1954, the Palais Galliera opened its rooms to host the annual exhibitions of the "Salon des peintres témoins de leur temps" (Salon of Painters, witnesses of their time). The palace was specially configured to host this event to ensure the works of art were displayed as best possible. The greatest contemporary artists of the period were showcased in the Palais Galliera: Utrillo, Rouault, Matisse, Chagall, Buffet, Picasso, along with Léger, Braque, Kisling, and Gromaire… Every year, a theme was assigned relating to Humans and their environment, such as "Humans in the City" in 1954, "Bread and Wine" in 1965 and "The Life of Things" in 1973. Only figurative artists are invited to share their visions.  
 

Galliera, an auction house

In addition to this Salon, the Palais Galliera rooms hosted auctions from 1960 onwards. Through an agreement concluded with the City of Paris, the "Compagnie des commissaires-priseurs de Paris" (Association of Paris auctioneers) used the palace for 16 years. Only period furniture, works of art and paintings by masters were sold here. These prestigious auction lasted 15 days each season.