Paris’s Petit Palais both houses art and is itself a work of art

By Robert Thomas

The grand royal entrance of the Le Petit Palais feels as though it was pulled right out of a children’s story book description of the castle.

PARIS – To say that the name of Le Petit Palais, or the Petite Palace, is misleading is to risk understatement of, well, a grand scale. So named because of its proximity to the Grand Palais, this gem of a public museum is hiding in plain sight.

Built for the 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris, the early Beaux Arts-style structure today houses the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts, which un-translated is the Musée des Beaux Arts, and as a city museum it is open to the public with no admission fee. Because of its free admission and location in the heart of central Paris, it is not uncommon to see many of the city’s office workers slipping into the Palais’s spaces for lunch hour nourishment on many levels.

The Palais’s massive gold entryway punctuated by stone pillars on either side might remind visitors of a fairytale castle. And inside is the stuff of dreams: Rembrandt, Rubens, Monet, Cezanne, Rodin, and so many more. In all, the exhibits attempt to show a history of art from its beginnings into the present time. The museum has a “History of French Art from 1800-1900,” while an inner gallery collects material objects such as metal pieces, tapestries, and sculpture. An outer gallery is dedicated to royal French furniture.

But be sure to look up. The domed ceiling is decorated with Renaissance-era painting, while tiled mosaics decorate the floors. It might remind visitors of the Louvre just down the street.

Wall-sized art of the crucifixion of Christ is just a few steps from a red room filled with paintings depicting the bloody battles of the French revolution. It is as if God and country are on equal footing at the Petit Palais.

The museum’s lower level is dedicated to Greek and Roman art and pottery, as well as more 18th-,19th- and 20th-century French art.

Some of the exhibition spaces feature large, caged windows that open out into a courtyard garden that is itself an exhibit space of sorts. White columns ring the semi-circular garden of trees and red and blue flowers, all of which are backgrounded by the Palais’s massive dome.

A quaint café serving meals ranging from 5-17 euros is just inside the courtyard. Of course, desserts and drinks are available, as well.

Located on Avenue Winston Churchill, just a five-minute walk from the Champs Élysées – Clemenceau metro station, the Palais is open daily from 10 am to 6 pm, except for Mondays. The café in the courtyard is open from 10 am to 5 pm.