Condé Museum, Art museum in Château de Chantilly, France
The Condé Museum is an art museum inside the Château de Chantilly, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Paris, displaying old master paintings, drawings, and manuscripts. The collections occupy several rooms that have kept their original layout since opening in the late 19th century.
The Duke of Aumale bequeathed the château and its art collection to the Institut de France in 1897, requiring that the arrangement of works remain unchanged. The museum opened the following year and has stayed as the duke organized it ever since.
The museum's name honours the Princes of Condé, who from 1643 displayed paintings at Chantilly; their portraits and battle scenes, including those of the Grand Condé, hang in the Galerie des Actions de Monsieur le Prince. The Duke of Aumale added the Chantilly codex (MS 564), the main manuscript of ars subtilior music, to the library of 1,500 manuscripts.
A visit can easily be combined with a walk through the château grounds, which are open to the public and include several gardens. The rooms are reached by stairs, so visitors with limited mobility should inquire ahead.
The collection can never be loaned to other institutions, a condition written into the duke's will. This means all works remain permanently on site and cannot be viewed anywhere else.
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