Maison de Victor Hugo

The Chinese salon is an unexpected introduction to Victor Hugo. Its painted panels, porcelain plates, mirrors and specially designed furniture reveal an imagination at work on a room as well as on a page. The decorative elements were made for Juliette Drouet’s house in Guernsey, then brought together in Paris for the museum. They are part of Hugo’s story, but the arrangement is a museum presentation rather than an untouched room from his years on Place des Vosges.

Hugo’s Paris years and the red salon

Hugo lived at this address with his family from 1832 to 1848. Today the apartment follows the shape of his life before exile, during it and after his return. That distinction gives the visit more substance than simply identifying where a famous writer once slept. Furnishings and objects from different homes help explain how his domestic world changed alongside his literary and political life.

The red salon evokes the Paris years. Red damask, family portraits, a marble bust and pieces of furniture create a setting connected with the writers, artists and political figures around the leading Romantic author. The paintings include works by Louis Boulanger and Auguste de Châtillon. Their subjects and the presentation of the room make family life and public reputation visible together, within the scale of an apartment overlooking the square.

The Chinese salon and a visit beside the square

The Chinese salon and adjoining furniture bring the exile years into that sequence. Hugo designed the painted panels in the 1860s, and their decorative combinations show a playful, inventive side of his work. The objects were originally spread through several rooms in Drouet’s Guernsey home. Seeing them here therefore calls for a little attention to their history: Paris is presenting a part of that other house, rather than pretending every object has always stood at 6 place des Vosges.

The museum’s manageable scale makes it a useful companion to a walk around the square or a longer visit to Carnavalet. It also offers a different kind of museum experience from a large painting collection. Rooms, furniture and personal objects carry much of the narrative, with the relationship between writing and domestic space giving the visit its character. Temporary exhibitions can alter the route and make admission chargeable, so the particular exhibition matters to the visit as well as the permanent apartment.