Gustave Moreau

Yesterday I visited the Musée Gustave Moreau with my art history class. The building is literally Moreau's house that he gave to the state to be made into a museum, on the promise that nothing would be touched or moved. Apparently he even arranged each painting and truc in every room just as it looks today, one hung above the other like tiles of wallpaper. The building is a three-story time warp into the awesome 1800s.

Moreau is typically associated with the Symbolist movement, so most (if not all) of his works have to do with Greek mythology. He trained at the École des Beaux-Arts, failed at winning the Prix de Rome twice, and was buddies with Chassériau and Degas. He never married and lived with his mother until she died. He worked constantly in his atelier, which he renovated into a large gallery before donating his home to the state. There are fold-out cabinets installed along the walls that display his drawings and studies like posters in a gift shop. So. Prolific.