Weasling in: Museum Challenge week #6

Next on the Museum Challenge list was a lesser known museum/fancy old apartment. Why not at once check out some art and a sweet old apartment? It's like a two-for-one museum. As such, I braved the rain to venture north to the Musee Gustave Moreau, the former home of the museum's namesake. It turns out that this museum may not actually be free for EU citizens and residents under 26 unless they are art students, but I did manage to weasle my way into an entrée gratuite.

Moreau lived from 1826-1898. During his life, he experimented with a variety of different styles drawing generally on themes of classical Roman/Greek mythology, biblical references, and Hindu deities. He played with classical styles as well as his own interpretation of impression. He also did some very modern sculpture work. Some of his paintings were very classical and then has outlines of other figures simply sketched on top, though in these cases I can't be certain if he was trying to be modern or simply never finish the work. He went on to educate artists including Matisse. (I didn't recognize the other pupils listed.) As he aged, he decided that his works should one day be left on display for the public rather than auctioned off, so he had his home renovated to serve as the museum that stands today. It only merits about a half hour's tour, but it's an interesting glimpse into an old Parisian home and the evolution of the resident artist as he experimented in styles and materials across a lifetime of work.