Musée des monuments français, Architectural museum in 16th arrondissement of Paris, France.
The Musée des monuments français is an architectural museum housed in the Palais de Chaillot, displaying plaster casts of building elements from French monuments. The collection contains about six thousand casts of sculptures and decorative details representing various periods and construction styles.
Eugène Viollet-le-Duc founded the museum in 1879 to document and preserve French architectural heritage through reproductions. This project allowed scholars to study important details from monuments in one place without risking damage to original sites.
The museum displays casts from French Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals, bringing together sculptural details that are scattered across the country. Visitors can examine these works side by side and understand how medieval craftsmanship expressed itself across different regions.
The museum is located in the Palais de Chaillot with convenient public transport access in Paris. Plan adequate time to walk through the displays, as the collection is extensive and spread across different sections.
The museum contains detailed replicas of cathedral portals and façade sections from the Middle Ages that would be unreachable in their original locations. These casts allow visitors to see artistic details up close that sit high above ground or in inaccessible places at actual cathedrals.
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