Musée du Quai Branly

Musée du Quai Branly

The Musée du Quai Branly is located in Paris, France, near the Eiffel Tower. Because it sits on the banks of the Quai Branly, the museum was named after physicist Paul-Jacques-Aimé Blandin. Proposed by former French President Jacques Chirac, the project was initiated in 1996 and took ten years of design and construction, finally being completed in June 2006.

The architect of the Musée du Quai Branly is the renowned contemporary French architect Jean Nouvel, whose works are colorful, imaginative, and full of flair. Viewed from the Eiffel Tower, the museum resembles a massive ark quietly moored along the Seine. Shaped like an ark, the museum reflects the architect’s respect for non-Western cultures through architectural expression. More uniquely, the museum mainly houses and displays primitive-style artworks from Africa, the Americas, Oceania, and Asia. Chirac’s vision was to restore due recognition to long-overlooked art and cultures, while also hoping the museum would serve as a facility for promoting peace—fully affirming that every individual and culture holds equal dignity. As a result, the Quai Branly Museum has been dubbed by the media as the “Museum of Non-Western Art” or the “Museum of the Other.”

The harmony between this building and nature further solidifies its place in the history of world architecture. Architect Jean Nouvel surrounded the museum with large green spaces, including a 18,000-square-meter garden, with all the museum buildings nestled within this expansive garden.

Musée du quai Branly

Must-visit reason: Paris’s most renowned museum of non-Western art

Continent: Europe【Europe】

Country/Region: France[France]

Province/State: Île-de-France Region [Ile-de-France Region]

City: Paris [Paris]