Maison de Balzac

The Maison de Balzac is a house museum in the former residence of French novelist Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850). It is located in the 16th arrondissement at 47, rue Raynouard, Paris, France, and open daily excepts Mondays and holidays; admission to the house is free, but a fee is charged for its temporary exhibitions.

The modest house, with its courtyard and garden, is located within the residential district of Passy near the Bois de Boulogne. Having fled his creditors, Balzac rented its top floor from 1840-1847 under his housekeeper's name (Mr. de Breugnol). It was acquired by the city of Paris in 1949, and is now one of the city's three literary museums, along with the Maison de Victor Hugo and the Musée de la Vie Romantique (George Sand). It is the only of Balzac's many residences still in existence.

Balzac's five-room apartment was located on the top floor, at three levels, and as today opened into the garden. Here he edited La Comedie humaine and wrote some of his finest novels, including La Rabouilleuse, Une Ténébreuse Affaire, and La Cousine Bette. Although the writer's furniture was dispersed after his widow's death, the museum now contains Balzac's writing desk and chair, his turqoise-studded cane by Lecointe (1834), and his tea kettle and a coffee pot given to him by Zulma Carraud in 1832.

The museum also contains an 1842 daguerreotype of Balzac by Louis-Auguste Bisson, a drawing of Balzac by Paul Gavarni (circa 1840), a pastel portrait (circa 1798) of Balzac's mother Laure Sallambier (1778-1854), an oil portrait (circa 1795-1814) of his father Bernard-François Balzac (1746-1829), and 19th-century prints by renowned artists including Paul Gavarni, Honoré Daumier, Grandville, and Henry Bonaventure Monnier.

Since 1971 the house's ground floor has contained a library of the author's manuscripts, original and subsequent editions, illustrations, books annotated and signed by Balzac, books devoted to Balzac, and other books and magazines of the period.

The house is also notable for underlying cavities which have been identified by pottery shards as former troglodyte dwellings dated to the time of the late Middle Ages. These excavations, however, are not open to the public.

See also

  • List of museums in Paris

References

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Alex Zhuravlova
9 August 2014
Sweet museum, very sweet garden. Must-visit for the Balsac lovers, but not a general must-visit, as it is too small, and there is not much to see.
Rachida Chic
3 November 2010
There is only the one house still standing in Paris where Balzac lived and nestled on the hillside of the ancient village of Passy near to the Bois de Boulogne, he occupied this house from 1840 to 184
Gene Johnson
20 March 2013
It's free, but nothing is in English. Lots of modern art, little remains if Balzac's curios.
Damiano C
7 September 2014
Visite de la maison à 5€, jardin gratuit pour se reposer et lire tranquillement. Un lieu charmant et peu connu.
Paris
28 May 2013
C'est derrière cette maison, au 24 de la rue Berton que l'on peut voir une borne posée en 1731 : elle indiquait la limite des seigneuries de Passy et d'Auteuil.
Julien Mazerolle
2 September 2010
Un mini musée dans une atmosphère d' une autre époque. Pensez à vous promener dans la rue Berton (pas changée depuis Balzac), rue par laquelle Balzac s'enfuyait lorsque les créanciers arrivaient.
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45 Rue Raynouard, 75016 Paris, France Get directions
Sat 24 Hours
Sun 8:00 AM–9:00 AM
Mon 8:00 AM–9:00 AM
Tue 10:00 AM–8:00 PM
Wed 8:00 AM–9:00 AM
Thu 8:00 AM–5:00 PM

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