Carnavalet: near Proust

Exhibition “Marcel Proust, a Parisian novel” – © Pierre Antoine / Paris musées / Musée Carnavalet – History of Paris

Marcel Proust (1871-1922) never set foot in Le Marais. In the exhibition dedicated to the writer at the Carnavalet Museum to celebrate the 150th anniversary of his birth, an important map makes it possible to materialize the presence of Marcel Proust in Paris, his networks and favorite places. This intimate geography is made up of social salons, restaurants, theaters and brothels, for straights and homosexuals (this was well before the advent of the Gay Marais).

All the Parisian life of the author ofIn search of lost time, who was born into a wealthy and cultured family (his father is a doctor), takes place in a few arrondissements on the right bank: 8th, 9th, 16th, 17th and, also, 2nd, where brothels are numerous. In other words: Auteuil, Bois de Boulogne, Champs-Élysées, Opéra, Madeleine, Boulevard des Italians, Gare Saint-Lazare, Europe district, Saint-Augustin, Plaine Monceau.

Rarely, the creator ofA love of Swann crosses the Seine to reach Faubourg Saint-Germain. Sometimes he ventures to Porte Saint-Martin to go to the theater or have dinner. Never again to the East. Except for his last journey: he is buried at Père Lachaise.

Marcel Proust's bedroom – © Pierre Antoine / Paris musées / Musée Carnavalet – History of Paris

Le Marais ? For this bourgeois who led the life of an aristocrat, it became, in his time, a “no-go zone”, a populous, unsanitary neighborhood, reserved for workers and Jewish immigrants newly arrived from central and eastern Europe.

At Carnavalet, the Marcel Proust exhibition presents 280 works (paintings, sculptures, graphic works, photographs, architectural models, accessories and clothing), manuscripts and archival documents, from public and private collections, French and foreign. There are also numerous extracts from archive films, cinematographic adaptations and sound recordings which offer visitors a sensory introduction to the novel and the Proustian world. It's great, but very busy: it's better to choose your time to avoid rush hours. Thus, less “wasted time”, as Marcel would say.

Online reservation.

▼ Marcel Proust, a Parisian novel.
Carnavalet Museum
23, rue de Sévigné, 75003 Paris
Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 18 p.m.
Closed on Mondays.
Tel: +01 44 59 58 58
Until April 10, 2022.

Exhibition “Marcel Proust, a Parisian novel” – © Pierre Antoine / Paris musées / Musée Carnavalet – History of Paris

Text: Axel G.

07. 01.22