Musée départemental des peintres de Barbizon

About the museum

The Auberge Ganne was originally a small village grocery, run around 1820 by Edmée Ganne and her husband. Gradually it welcomed painters who came to work from nature in the Fontainebleau forest, and from the 1820s to the 1860s it became the artists’ favorite meeting place. They covered the furniture and walls with painted decorations. Around 1870, the Luniot family left the inn and took this furniture to a new hotel; the house was then rented out as apartments and its past faded away.

The first museum of Barbizon opened in 1927 in Théodore Rousseau’s studio, but the commune gave it up as early as 1930 and the works were dispersed. The centenary of Jean-François Millet’s death, in 1975, revived the project. A small museum reopened in 1977 in Rousseau’s studio and received state accreditation from the Ministry of Culture in 1981. Its collections grew through purchases and donations, notably from the descendants of Ferdinand Chaigneau.

Becoming too cramped, the museum moved in 1995 into the Auberge Ganne, where the artists’ decorations had been rediscovered. There it presents its permanent collection of paintings, drawings and prints by Corot, Millet, Rousseau and Diaz de la Peña. The neighboring house-studio of Théodore Rousseau is today used for temporary exhibitions.

Highlights

• Decorations painted by the artists on the furniture and walls of the Auberge Ganne
• Reconstructed dining rooms and grocery on the ground floor
• Paintings, drawings and prints by Corot, Millet, Rousseau and Diaz de la Peña
• Théodore Rousseau’s house-studio with its 24 engraved copper plates
• Audiovisual presentation on the Barbizon artists’ colony

Permanent exhibition

• Auberge Ganne : collection permanente – Decorations painted by the artists, reconstructed dining rooms and grocery, and upstairs paintings, drawings and prints of the Barbizon school.

Operated by

Département de Seine-et-Marne

Admission & discounts

Rates in effect since January 1, 2025. Admission is also free, with proof, for recipients of social minimum benefits, job seekers, war victims, members of ICOM and ICOMOS, journalists, tourism professionals, Amis et auditeurs du Louvre, staff of French museums, and employees and elected officials of the Département. The Balad’pass 77 card, reserved for residents of Seine-et-Marne, gives free entry with the purchase of a full-price ticket.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The ground floor of the Auberge Ganne, the reception and bookshop and the audiovisual room are wheelchair accessible; the upper floor and Théodore Rousseau’s house-studio are not, but the mediation space is. The path from the parking area has a fairly steep slope. Induction loops in the audiovisual room, a large-print booklet, a presentation booklet of the collections for people who cannot climb to the upper floor, seats in the rooms and walking sticks with a seat on request. A multisensory kit for visitors with visual or intellectual disabilities. The museum holds the Tourisme & Handicap label for hearing and intellectual disabilities.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Kids’ birthday parties

Painting, watercolor, drawing or printmaking workshops for families on set dates, and offers for leisure centers from age 3. Birthday parties and snack parties (goûters) can be booked, with a room made available. Free admission for visitors under 25.

Getting there & parking

By car from Paris: A6, exit Fontainebleau, then exit Barbizon; from Fontainebleau: D607. By bike: 11 km from Fontainebleau-Avon station along a bike path; electric bikes can be rented in Fontainebleau.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Bookshop with discovery books on painting and nature.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit