Museum of Hunting and Nature
The story of hunting and animal lore is told through taxidermy, hands on curiosity cabinets, and stunning displaysEvery seeker of the unusual loves a good taxidermy museum and there are plenty of places in Paris that you can admire such zoological displays, however none of them host as theatrical and astonishing a display as the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature. Installed in two 18th century private mansions at the compulsion of François and Jacqueline Sommer, a couple of rich industrials, the museum advocates for respectful hunting practices, wildlife preservation and ecological consciousness.
Since 1964, this “ Grand Siècle” type museum not only takes a pedagogic and esthetical approach to animal anatomy as well as hunting techniques and devices, but highlights all of the above in very elegant way. The underlying intimacy that once linked together mankind and his environment, a precious relationship that surrounded the most archaic ritual - taking the life of an animal, sometimes at your own risk, to keep your community alive.
Arranged by the marquis Georges de Lastic as a Wunderkammer, each room of the labyrinthic houses are dedicated to a specific animal. Deer, wild pig, rabbit, birds of prey, they all have their own place. The genious aspect of the museographic work however is that each creatures appears where you least expect them, surprising you by their lifelike presence in a setting mixing baroque furniture, paintings, and cabinets of curiosities you’re encouraged to open and play with.
Guided through centuries of visual art, through ancient eras where animals where gods in their allegoric forms, to companions of christian saints, and finally as taxidermied relics of science the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature serves as a symbolic bestiary reminding the viewer that Nature‘s wonder is a splendid, mysterious and sometimes frightening entity.
Read more about Museum of Hunting and Nature on Atlas Obscura...
Category: Fascinating Fauna, Museums and Collections, Wonder Cabinets, Unique Collections, Hunting and Taxidermy
Location: Paris, France
Edited by: Laetitia, Rachel, Dylan