Off the tiny Place Fürstemberg, away from the mobs on the Boulevard Saint-Germain, we find the calm and insulated studio of one of the greats of French painting, Delacroix. Through a distinctly Parisian courtyard, up a steep wooden staircase, is situated the artist’s home and studio where he spent the last peaceful years (1857-1863) of his celebrated career. The aging and ailing Delacroix moved here to be closer to his work at the nearby church, Saint-Sulpice, and it is here that he found solace in the care of his domestique and supposed lover, Jenny Le Guillou. The museum is scrupulously organized. Start in the salon and take in pastels of landscapes and biblical scenes. The bibliothèque is where visitors waited to greet the artist in his studio. In the bedroom where he drew his last breaths, a Delacroix portrait hangs of Jenny who faithfully cared for him until the end. Also, “Le Lit Defait” (The Unmade bed) hints eerily to the atmosphere at the time of his death.
