- French:
- âPalm Gameâ
- Also known as:
- Galerie Nationale de lâImage or Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume
- Date:
- 1862 - present
- Areas Of Involvement:
- History of photography
Jeu de Paume
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What is the Jeu de Paume museum?
The Jeu de Paume is a museum in Paris dedicated to 20th- and 21st-century photography, cinema, video, online work, and other art forms. It was constructed in 1862 in the Tuileries Garden as a court for an early variant of tennis, but the space has served many functions over the decades, including as an administration building during World War I and a gallery exhibiting Franceâs collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist pieces.
From 1940 to 1944, during the German occupation of France, the Jeu de Paume was a storage facility for over 22,000 pieces of art confiscated from other museums and Jewish households. After the war, it was reinstated as a museum. In 1991, the French government renovated the Jeu de Paume to showcase the history of photography, videos, and art in multimedia formats.
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Where is the Jeu de Paume museum located in Paris?
The Jeu de Paume is a museum in Paris devoted to photography, cinema, video, online work, and other art forms from the 20th and 21st centuries. It was constructed in 1862 in the Tuileries Garden as a court for an early variant of tennis. Over the decades, it has served as an administration building during World War I, a gallery exhibiting Franceâs collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist pieces, and a museum of photography and other contemporary media.
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What type of art does the Jeu de Paume museum display?
The Jeu de Paume in Paris is a museum dedicated to 20th- and 21st-century art forms, including photography, cinema, video, and online works. Originally a court for a tennis-like game, it has served as an administration building, an Impressionist and Post-Impressionist gallery, and a storage facility for art confiscated by the Nazis during World War II. In 1991, it was renovated and renamed the Galerie Nationale de lâImage, with a focus on showcasing the history of photography, videos, and multimedia art. The museum has displayed works by multimedia artists such as Lorna Simpson, Chantal Akerman, and Joel Meyerowitz.
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Why is the Jeu de Paume museum important in the art world?
The Jeu de Paume is an important arts center in Paris that showcases photography, cinema, video, and other art forms from the 20th and 21st centuries. Originally built in 1862 as a court for a version of tennis, it has served as an administration building during World War I and a gallery for Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art.
The museum is known for its role during the German occupation of France from 1940 to 1944, when it was used to store over 22,000 pieces of art confiscated from French museums and Jewish households. Rose Valland, a museum employee, secretly tracked the destinations of looted artworks, which proved crucial to recovering tens of thousands of pieces.
In 1991, the French government renovated the Jeu de Paume, renaming it the Galerie Nationale de lâImage, to centralize photographic archives and provide a venue for photography, videos, and multimedia art.
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How did the building's original purpose differ from its current use as a museum?
The Jeu de Paume in Paris was initially constructed in 1862 as a court for jeu de paume, an early form of tennis. However, as tennis grew in popularity, the arena was repurposed. During World War I, it served as an administration building for ration coupons. Later, it became an art gallery, first as an arm of the Musée du Luxembourg and then dedicated to Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art.
Between 1940 and 1944, the German occupying forces used it as a storage facility for looted art. In 1991, after renovations, it was transformed into the Galerie Nationale de lâImage, a museum for photography, video, and multimedia art, which is its current function.
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What are some famous exhibitions or artists that have been featured at the Jeu de Paume?
The Jeu de Paume in Paris has a rich history, transitioning from a tennis court to a significant art space. After World War II, it was reinstated as a museum and dedicated to Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art. In 1986, the Jeu de Paume closed, and its collection moved to the MusĂ©e dâOrsay.
The French government renovated the Jeu de Paume by 1991, renaming it the Galerie Nationale de lâImage, with a focus on photography, videos, and multimedia art. The museum has showcased multimedia artists such as Lorna Simpson, Chantal Akerman, Oscar Muñoz, Edward Steichen, and Joel Meyerowitz.
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Jeu de Paume, museum in Paris devoted to photography, cinema, video, online work, and other forms of art from the 20th and 21st centuries. Originally constructed as a court on which to play a forerunner of tennis, the space has had a number of different functions over the decades, including as an administration building during World War I, a gallery exhibiting Franceâs collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist pieces, and finally a museum of photography and other contemporary media.
(Read Sister Wendyâs Britannica essay on art appreciation.)
The Jeu de Paume was constructed in 1862 in the Tuileries Garden in Paris as an arena in which to play an early variant of tennis. As tennis became the more popular sport at the turn of the century, the Jeu de Paume was largely abandoned before being transformed into an art gallery. During World War I, it was used as a location to administer ration coupons and afterward it became an arm of the MusĂ©e du Luxembourg, a museum in the Luxembourg Gardens dedicated to living artists. From 1940 to 1944 the Germans, during their occupation of France, turned the Jeu de Paume into a storage facility for more than 22,000 pieces of art confiscated from other museums in France and from Jewish households. Exhibitions of artworks were staged for high-ranking Nazi officials. As art passed through the building, Rose Valland, the only original museum employee retained by the Nazis, eavesdropped on German conversations and furtively kept notes on where the looted pieces were headed. Her records were instrumental in the recovery of tens of thousands of artworks. After the war the facility was reinstated as a museum, this time dedicated to Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art. The Jeu de Paume closed its doors in 1986, and the majority of its collection was transferred to another Paris landmark, the MusĂ©e dâOrsay. It was thereafter used to house temporary exhibits of modern art.
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(Read Glenn Lowryâs Britannica essay on âArt Museums and Their Digital Future.â)
By 1991 the French government had renovated the Jeu de Paume, renamed it the Galerie Nationale de lâImage, and given it a new purpose: to showcase the history of photography, videos, and art in multimedia formats. The change was intended to provide a prestigious venue for photography and related arts by centralizing the photographic archives then dispersed among other museums in France. The French Ministry of Culture and Communication set up an association that effectively combined the administration of the Jeu de Paume with that of two national photography organizations. The museum displays numerous works of photography and video as well as mounting exhibits by multimedia artists such as Lorna Simpson, Chantal Akerman, Oscar Muñoz, Edward Steichen, and Joel Meyerowitz.