In a few weeks, the Maison de Victor Hugo, Place des Vosges, will close for work for a year. Until mid-April, there is still time to discover the apartment of the “grantwriter” on the second floor of the Hôtel de Rohan-Guéménée, at number 6 Place des Vosges, located on the south-west corner. East.
Remember that with the exception of the first floor, dedicated to temporary exhibitions, the visit to this museum, somewhat neglected by the general public, is free. Certainly, the apartment on the second floor is no longer in its original state. But the soul of the man who was a poet, playwright, novelist, deputy of Paris and academician, is still palpable in this biographical museum which traces the life of the author: before, during and after the exile in Guernsey.
Living in the Marais from 1832 to 1848, it was here that the leader of the Romantics wrote several major works: Lucrezia Borgia, Ruy Blas, Marie Tudor, without forgetting a large part of Les Miserables. The raised work table on which he wrote (always standing, never sitting) is one of the most moving objects in this “L”-shaped apartment with seven rooms in a row.
We will also appreciate the “Chinese salon”, which reveals a little-known facet of Victor Hugo’s genius: his talent as a decorator. This room entirely decorated with Chinoiserie resurrects the spirit of the house of his mistress, Juliette Drouet, who came to join him in exile in Guernsey, after having lived on rue Sainte-Anastase, very close to the current Picasso Museum.
Defender of press freedom, supporter of the abolition of the death penalty, activist for women's rights, in short agitator of avant-garde ideas, Victor Hugo attracted like a magnet all the literate minds of his time. Honoré de Balzac, Lamartine, Alexandre Dumas, Sainte-Beuve, Prosper Mérimée, Alfred de Vigny and Théophile Gautier parade at 6, place des Vosges. Admired or hated, true star of his time, Victor Hugo – like Johnny Hallyday, he was entitled to a national funeral! – is undoubtedly one of the most notable celebrities to have lived in Le Marais. Visiting the apartment of the cult author whose work “Les Misérables” is currently playing on Broadway is therefore a civic obligation!
Text: Ella David and Axel G.
Photos: ©Anaïs Costet
25.02.19
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