Salle des enseignes Carnavalet fin des travaux JB Gurliat Bannière
News

Your donations make great things possible

Publié le 18 July 2022

Thanks to the contribution of our generous donors, Paris Musées has put in place a number of ambitious projects.

The Renovation of Hauteville House – Victor Hugo’s former residence

Hauteville House Maison de Victor Hugo

Hauteville House Maison de Victor Hugo 

In 2017, as part of the large-scale renovation of Victor Hugo’s former house in Guernsey, Paris Musées launched a campaign with the Heritage Foundation in order to appeal for donations for the restoration of furniture items from Hauteville House.

The aim of this project was to preserve the house and restore the original appearance of the residence and its decor, as designed and built by Victor Hugo himself.

In addition to the exclusive patronage of the Pinault Collection and the support of the City of Paris, the contributions of 363 donors resulted in the sum of €78,667. This went towards the restoration of the “look-out” (a sort of glass house), used by Victor Hugo for his writing. The space had been badly damaged by the weather. The donation was also used to renovate the decor of the studio and winter garden.

The restored features have been on show to the public since spring 2019, when the renovation campaign carried out by Paris Musées on this part of the house was completed.

Each of these donors has made a significant contribution to the history of a venue associated with a remarkable literary, artistic, and political figure.

Restoration of shop signs – Musée Carnavalet

Galerie des Enseignes

© Antoine Dumont

In 2019, in order to carry out the restoration of the Parisian shop signs presented in the spaces of the Musée Carnavalet, the Museum launched a crowdfunding campaign.

€31,892 was raised from individuals and companies whose generosity enabled the Museum to restore its collection of shop signs dating from the 16th to the 20th century. This collection of signs is a colourful evocation of the atmosphere of the capital’s streets in the past. At a time when street numbers did not exist, signs served as landmarks in Paris, and not only demonstrate a remarkable inventiveness but great creative freedom.

Thanks to each of these donors, the signs for Au Chat qui dortAu Bœuf Normand, Au Soleil d’Or, and many others have been restored to their former glory and have been on display to the public since the reopening of the Musée Carnavalet in May 2021.

Cultural programme – Petit Palais

Affiche Giovanni Boldini

Since 2019, Ms Natalia Logvinova Smalto has contributed financially, via her Fondation Signature-Institut de France, to the development of the cultural programme of the Petit Palais – Musée des Beaux-Arts de Paris.

The Fondation Signature, created by Natalia Logvinova Smalto in homage to her husband Francesco Smalto, aims to support emerging talents and innovative multidisciplinary projects. The Foundation, housed at the Institut de France, is a committed patron to multiple cultural institutions: in addition to Paris Musées - Petit Palais, it also supports the Opéra de Paris and the Arop association, Musée national du château de Malmaison and the École Duperré, as well as the Théâtre national de l’Opéra Comique, and the Paris Mozart Orchestra. 

The Foundation supports projects in France but with an international dimension, and through its philanthropic actions, fosters the development of emerging artists and a rich cultural diversity through a number of annual prizes: Musicians Prize, Garden Art Prize, Remarkable Signature Prize, and Studio Prize. The Fondation Signature also accompanies young talents as they embark on a prestigious international career, as well as landscape designers in their quest to sublimate nature, or young female artists.

For example, the Foundation supported the Neapolitan season at the Petit Palais with the exhibitions Vincenzo Gemito (1852-1929) - The Sculptor of the Neapolitan Soul and Luca Giordano (1634-1705) - The Triumph of Neapolitan Painting in 2019, and was the main sponsor of the exhibition Ilya Repin (1844-1930) - Painting the Soul of Russia, postponed to 2021, and supported Boldini - Pleasures and Days in 2022.

 

Would you like to contribute to the development of cultural, heritage, or solidarity-based projects? Whatever the amount, your donation is an important contribution that enables us to carry out these unique projects.

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The Paris Musées patronage team is at your disposal to discuss and inform you about your support project.
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75010 Paris
Email : mecenat.parismusees@paris.fr
Tel : 01 80 05 40 70