The Cernuschi Museum in Paris

Published on : 17/07/2019
by : J.R.

Asian arts in Paris

The small Cernuschi museum is devoted to the arts of the Far East: Japan, China, Vietnam and Korea. Created in 1896 and installed in a beautiful mansion close to Parc Monceau, it allows the curious to discover more than 3600 works of Japanese art.

The creation of the museum

After the Guimet Museum, the Cernuschi Museum is the second museum dedicated to Asian arts in France. It was created in 1896 , following the legacies of Henri Cernuschi , financier and collector passionate about Asia. In 1898, when the museum was inaugurated, the collections were presented in its private mansion, in the heart of the capital's 17th arrondissement. Before his death, he already exhibited works brought back from Asia there, which made it one of the privileged places for the impressionist painters of the time, passionate about Japanism.

Read also: Japan at the Guimet Museum

Today managed by the City of Paris , this beautiful private mansion is very renowned for its collection of Chinese bronze, but also allows you to consider a first approach to Japanese art.

Japanese collections

More than 3600 works from the Japanese archipelago are exhibited at the Cernuschi Museum. Among them, 2000 bronzes and 1600 ceramics , which thus constitute a third of the collections.

A large part was brought together by Henri Cernuschi during a long journey between 1871 and 1872. In the 20th and 21st centuries , other acquisitions made it possible to enlarge the collection, particularly in the field of painting and ceramics.

The museum houses beautiful masterpieces such as the pair of folding screens by Kishi Renzan (1805 - 1859).

You can also admire Japanese lacquerware , including a Nanban lectern (shokendai) from the Momoyama period (1573 - 1603), or a utensil box for the incense game (kōgubako) from the Edo period (1603 - 1868). ).

To go further: Urushi, Japanese lacquer

But the most remarkable piece is undoubtedly the bronze statue of the seated Buddha Amida , installed in the center of the large room on the first floor, and which is one of the emblems of the museum. This large statue, more than 4 meters high, dated between 1603 and 1867, is a survivor of the fire that destroyed a small temple in the Meguro district of Tokyo . It remained in place in its own juice for many years before Cernuschi bought it in 1871 and brought it back disassembled to Paris.

Museum activities

Like many French museums, the Cernuschi Museum regularly organizes temporary exhibitions . A certain number of them are dedicated to Japan and a part of its art, like the exhibitions "Walk in Japan, a look at the collection" in 2019 or "Treasures of Kyoto, three centuries of Rinpa creation" in 2018.

Workshops, conferences, concerts, screenings or demonstrations (painting, singing, dancing, etc.) are regularly organised. Many contemporary Japanese artists give lectures and demonstrations of their art there, such as Shozo Michikawa, a renowned ceramist, in 2018.

So be sure to visit the Japanese art rooms if you are passing through Paris and wish to discover a facet of Japan before setting foot on Japanese lands...

Traveling to Japan in France

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