The Fragonard Museum is located in Maisons-Alfort, just outside of Paris.
Situated within the grounds of the National Veterinary School.
So it’s already an unusual outing to visit a museum while the students are in class…
In a crowd of backpacks, you might even spot convalescing horses being led around the courtyard.
Created in 1766, it is one of the oldest museums in France, visited each year by around 8,000 visitors (only 20% of whom are foreigners), which is why it deserves its own article here…
so that more people can appreciate the magnificent and very interesting collection it houses.
The art of dissection
The museum is home to a vast array of genetic malformations and anatomical dissections, but it is world-renowned for its écorchés (flayed specimens).
Between jars of Siamese animals, deformed skeletons, and five-legged sheep, the works of Honoré Fragonard are displayed in the back room.
Known at the time as a madman, his preparations are incredibly meticulous.
Of the 700 écorchés he prepared, unfortunately only 21 remain today.
The most famous one, the horseman of the apocalypse, sits proudly in his room, almost overshadowing his many peers.
The dead bodies of both the human and the horse are posed together for eternity.
Medicine somehow met art in Fragonard’s mind. Maybe that’s why he was deemed mad.
The technique was very precise, with a special resin applied to the bodies to preserve them from the elements and worms. More than 250 years later, they are still intact, so it was effective !
Medical anomalies and the birth of myths
Depending on the number of visitors, you may feel quite overwhelmed, even with the audio guide.
It’s always very interesting to explore, but you still find yourself surrounded by corpses.
Certain medical conditions could almost explain some ancient legends.
From cyclopses to mermaids, as you look at the jars, you quickly realize that mythology was probably just unknown medical conditions.
Medicine has evolved, and beliefs have become children’s stories.
As time goes on, so will our current belief system maybe.
Admission is 7€ for this unusual museum, often overlooked by the crowds.
You leave the place with a strange feeling.
You see the youth of today studying for their future, while you just exited a death gallery.
Insane or not, Fragonard’s work reminds us that we are just a nervous system covered in meat, that will either turn to dust, or be on dipslay for all to see.
Sensitive souls, beware.
