Les Beaux-Arts is a major cultural institution with three iconic sites in Paris: the Rivoli site with the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, the Monceau site with the Camondo mansion and the Camondo School at the Raspail site.
Decorative arts were once intrinsic to everyday decoration and considered to be "minor art forms" whilst fine arts (painting, sculpture, architecture) were seen as "major art forms". The Central Union of Decorative Arts gradually brought Beautiful and Useful together and restored "fine arts applied to industry" to their former glory. Founded in 1864 and renamed Les Arts Décoratifs in 2004, this centre strives for the recognition of decorative arts, for decorative craftsmen and labourers to achieve a better status, the integration of living art in musuems and the promotion of design. A key result of bringing the Beautiful and Useful together is the opening of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in 1905 on Rue de Rivoli in the Louvre palace. The museum still has one of the world's biggest collections of decorative arts.
One of the major Decorative Arts site is the Rivoli museum near Hôtel de la Place du Louvre which has a museum and library of decorative arts. The collections at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs present a selection of items with over 6000 pieces giving an all-encompassing view of decorative arts from the Middle Ages to the present day. The museum has five chronological departments, seven themed departments, restored period rooms and a research gallery. The library has collections of printed books and exhibition catalogues. It's open to the general public and attracts students, art history researchers and all artistic professions. Monceau is the Decorative Arts' second site. It's a beautiful mansion owned by Count Moïse de Camondo (1860-1935) on the edge of Monceau Park. Last but not least, the Raspail site houses the Camondo School, a private interior design and design college. Its students include famous architects and designers such as Philippe Starck and Jean-Michel Wilmotte.
Tel : +33 (0)1 42 33 78 68
Fax : +33 (0)1 42 33 09 95
Hotel de la Place du Louvre is a member of Esprit de France,
a collection of hotels and residences rich in art and history.
