After leaving the sex shop having unsuccessfully attempted to rekindle the flame of their passion, Bob and Fanny stop, not insignificantly, outside the Musée de la Vie Romantique at number 16 on Rue Chaptal. A leafy tree stands before at the passage that leads to a house that was formerly the home of the Dutch artist Ary Scheffer in an area once known as New Athens. He bought the house in 1830 and he installed two artists’ studios in the garden. In the middle of the 19th century he welcomed the literary and artistic elite of the age to his home, people like George Sand, Franz Liszt, Eugene Delacroix or Charles Dickens. One of the visitors, the philosopher Ernest Renan went on to marry Scheffer’s niece, Cornélie and it was their family which gave the home to the City of Paris, leading to its transformation into a museum. The four rooms on the ground floor are devoted to souvenirs of the life of the writer and painter George Sand, and the upper levels to the works and collections of Scheffer and his peers, including portraits of the family members. The Museum also has a delightful tearoom in the garden which is open from March to October, the perfect place for taking a break from the hustle and bustle of the area.
Photo credit - Photo: Myrabella / Wikimedia Commons, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credit - Photo: Myrabella / Wikimedia Commons, via Wikimedia Commons