Maison Gainsbourg
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.JPG) The exterior of Maison Gainsbourg on the Rue de Verneuil | |
  Location within Paris | |
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| Established | 20 September 2023 |
|---|---|
| Location | 5bis (residence) 14bis (museum and bar) Rue de Verneuil 7th arrondissement, Paris, France |
| Coordinates | 48°51′26″N 2°19′54″E / 48.85712°N 2.331608°E |
| Type | Historic house museum |
| Director | Anatole Maggiar[1] |
| Curator | Sébastien Merlet[2] |
| Website | maisongainsbourg |
Maison Gainsbourg (French: [mɛzɔ̃ ɡɛ̃zbuʁ]; Gainsbourg House) is a house museum in Paris dedicated to French musician Serge Gainsbourg (1928–1991). It comprises Gainsbourg's residence at 5bis Rue de Verneuil, preserved as it appeared on 2 March 1991, the day Gainsbourg died there;[3] and a museum, library, bookstore, and piano bar called Gainsbarre at 14bis Rue de Verneuil.[1] It opened in September 2023.[1]
History
[edit source]Gainsbourg bought the house at 5 bis in 1969, the year he and Jane Birkin recorded "Je t'aime... moi non plus."[1][4] Gainsbourg and Birkin lived there until separating in 1980.[3][4] Gainsbourg had called the residence his "maison-musée" ("house-museum").[2]
After Gainsbourg died in 1991, the home stayed closed for over 30 years.[4] Its exterior became covered with graffiti.[3] Gainsbourg's daughter Charlotte owns and preserved the residence.[3][4]
The house
[edit source]The house at 5 bis appears as it did on the day of Gainsbourg's death.[2][3] The 130-square-metre (1,400 sq ft)[1] house is dark, with black felt covering the walls.[2][3]
The house holds roughly 25,000 items,[4] including antique furniture, gold records, cigarette packs, framed spiders, surgical tools, police badges, and the Steinway piano where Gainsbourg composed.[1][3][4] Artwork depicts his muses, including Brigitte Bardot, Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Gréco, Françoise Hardy, Vanessa Paradis, and Birkin.[4]
Visitors enter in pairs at timed intervals.[1] They wear headphones playing an audio guide narrated by Charlotte Gainsbourg in French and English, backed by archival sounds.[1]
Museum and bar
[edit source]The building at 14 bis rue de Verneuil houses a museum and piano bar, the Gainsbarre, which presents a visual timeline of Gainsbourg's life and career.[2] The collection includes letters, photographs, lyrics written by Gainsbourg, an original "La Marseillaise" draft by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, and the sculpture L'Homme à tête de chou by Claude Lalanne.[1][3] A basement space hosts temporary exhibitions.[1] Jacques Garcia designed the museum and bar in the house's aesthetic.[1][4]
References
[edit source]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Serafin, Amy (20 September 2023). "Maison Gainsbourg Opens in Paris, Filled with Serge Gainsbourg's Stories". Wallpaper. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Bennett, Catherine (25 September 2023). "Serge Gainsbourg's Haunted House Embalms His Mystique". The Washington Post. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Cohen, Roger (25 September 2023). "Time Stands Still in Serge Gainsbourg's Paris Lair". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Burshtein, Karen (4 October 2023). "Serge Gainsbourg's Legendary House Has Reopened as a Time Capsule Frozen in Time". Elle Decor. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
External links
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