(Last Update: 10.09.2024) I would like to introduce Musée Guimet, one of the most different, most special and richest museums in Paris, which I always turned my nose up at and postponed visiting due to my distant stance towards Asian arts, but finally changed my mind the moment I walked through its doors one day and fascinated me. to you in this article.
This magnificent museum, known as Musée National des Arts Asiatiques – Musée Guimet (National Museum of Asian Arts – Guimet Museum), briefly known as Musée Guimet, is located in the 8th century. boroughIt is located on Place d'Iéna in .
Trocadero Place de l'AlmaTo the museum on Wilson Boulevard, right in the middle of M9 metro You can reach it directly by getting off at the Iéna station of the line. When you look from the outside, the museum building does not look very assertive and magnificent, despite its different architecture; So you cannot guess what kind of great treasure it contains inside. Maybe this was one of the factors that delayed my visit to this museum, I don't know.
European Night of Museums While I was going to Musée Guimet, the third museum I visited in the same night as part of the museum, I confess - I was thinking "get out of the way", but when I saw the queue at the door, I realized how popular it was. I had to walk through the door to understand why it was so popular.
I thought this was a small place, but it wasn't like that at all. When I think of Asian arts, the first thing that comes to my mind is Chinese porcelain and Buddha statues, but it's not like that at all. As I said, the image of Asia in my mind is limited to China and Beijing; behold, the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City; Well, maybe if we go to Japan, paper umbrellas, sliding doors with paper glass, etc.; However, how shallow is our knowledge of Asia.
My French exchange friend Roger said to me one day: “For us, Asia begins in Istanbul…"I was a little upset with this statement; Well, we claim to be European; More precisely, we are neither European nor Asian, and at the same time we are both European and Asian, that's why we don't like to be called just Asian, but for a European, Asia begins in Istanbul.
The works exhibited in the museum are richer than I could ever imagine. There are so many rich things from such a wide geography. your cultural heritage In fact, even this huge museum is not enough to exhibit them together as much as possible. Nevertheless, it is a very special feeling to recognize the traces of such a vast culture in Parisian conditions, to try to interact with them, understand and feel them.
I am not familiar with Asian culture, especially as I move towards the Far East, everything becomes more foreign to me, but in fact, it is necessary to know those cultures very well. It is important to visit such museums to get to know the beliefs, perceptions of life and lifestyles of other cultures, apart from our existence on earth and the culture we create and live in. So, when we think of Asia, we should not think of the Chinese tourists who make people miserable on the streets of Paris :)
Musee Guimet (museum moan) named after the French industrialist and famous collector Emile guimetIt takes from . The greatest passion of Monsieur Guimet, who lived between 1836 and 1918, was to create a collection of Asian arts, and in those years he realized the idea of opening a museum where he could exhibit the works he collected during his travels to this region.
I mentioned something similar in another article. Musee CernuchiWe also saw it in . But it's also the Asian Arts museum. Musee Cernuchi Since it is mostly a personal collection, although it is impressive, it is not that rich.
However, Musée Guimet does not only consist of Emile Guimet's collection... Since he was a businessman from Lyon, he first produced his works. 1879Guimet, who exhibited in Lyon in 1889It was moved to this building in Paris in 1994 and then works from many other countries started to come to the museum and over time this amazing collection was formed.
Which country doesn't have artifacts? Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Japan, Korea, India, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Burma, Tibet Archaeological artifacts from many countries such as are included in the collections of Musée Guimet. It seems a bit unfair to gather the cultures of so many different countries under one "Asian" roof. The image of Asia you have drawn in your mind is shaken, and you are thrown from country to country, from culture to culture.
Guimet Museum including garden floor and ground floor It consists of five floors in total. Periodic exhibition hall on the ground floor, auditorium and there is a cafeteria. Library, 'museum shop'The ground floor, which also includes the artefacts brought from India and Southeast Asia, is reserved for the works.
Giant Buddha statues, statues of many gods or important personalities whose names I do not know (I would get lost in their depth if I tried to research them), palace and temple models, details from real sections of these temples and much more are waiting for you. You are wandering around the halls with your mouth open and in a daze… While I am talking to Prof. I'm trying to remember what I learned in the History of Ancient Philosophy courses I took from Teoman Duralı...
The first floor is devoted to artifacts brought from China, Central Asia, the Himalaya, Afghanistan and Pakistan. While visiting here, you observe with amazement what the countries are like today and what a rich cultural heritage they are heirs to. Just as Louvre Museum or the feelings you feel when you start to get to know the Ancient Egyptian Civilization while visiting the British Museum; You cannot decide whether human beings are progressing or regressing throughout history...
I don't know if it is a trauma from my childhood, but these god statues in Far Asian art have always made me uneasy. Now I'm wondering what kind of "ChinaIf I had dreamed of the concept, this is what I saw in the museum. squishy Magnificent works with faces, that child I dreamed up in my mind China to the depiction he's sitting nice; I laugh at myself and a strange feeling fills me... Maybe this is the reason why I keep my distance from Asian arts? Again Freudian Here is a situation; Psychoanalysis is a must :)
It is very nice to look into the lower hall while walking around on the first floor and see the giant statue head from above, as if you could hold it with your hand. There are sculptures, ornaments, jewellery, books, textile products and much more on this floor.
But the best surprise is the library whose photo you see below. As I was walking, a little distracted and a little tired, I came across this place in the museum; A small but impressive section indeed. In fact, when you go up to the upper floor, you can also see this place from above; It has a very beautiful architecture; It's like a completely different world...
The upper floor, the second floor, is devoted to Chinese, Japanese and Korean arts. This is also a very impressive section. You not only examine beautiful works of art, but also - as I said - you look at the library from the upper floor, and a beautiful collection of photographs awaits you here.
Among the panoramic photos A panorama of Istanbul dated 1875 I'm sure seeing it will surprise and excite you as much as it did me. Also, in this hall, you look at very old photographs from many corners of Asia and think about the lives and people in those photographs. Isn't this what visiting a museum is like?
On the 3rd floor, there are management offices, a Chinese hall and a photo archive, and if you still have the courage, you can visit there and complete your tour. As you go down, you try to place in your mind all the different works you see. And maybe you understand better why your spouse and friends have started going on vacation to Cambodia and Vietnam so often lately :)
Guimet Museum, It is open every day of the week between 10:00-18:00, except Tuesdays. with public holidays Closed on January 1, May 1 and December 25. The museum is free for those under the age of 18, and it is also free for EU citizens/residence permit holders between the ages of 18-25. Moreover free on the first Sunday of every month It can be visited. You can find detailed information about the museum and current prices from the official website link at the end of the article.
After your museum visit, if you turn left at the exit and go down the hill, Tokyo Palace ve Paris Museum of Modern Art will be waiting for you; The end of the road is where Princess Diana died Place de l'AlmaIt reaches, maybe from there Seine River You can take a walk along the coast. When you exit the museum door, go up on the right. TrocaderoYou reach , where you will find a wonderful Eiffel Tower The view will be waiting.
Again Trocadero Squarein Musée de l'Architecture – Museum of Architecture, Museum of Man – Musée de l'Homme ve Maritime Museum – Musée de la Marine Three more beautiful museums, including: This is Paris, it doesn't end with sightseeing...
Pleasant trips, pleasant discoveries…
Web address: guimet.fr
Address: 6 Place de l'Iéna, 75016 Paris
