Musée de l'Image

An amazing Museum where images speak volumes and history comes to life

Why’s the Museum of Images in Épinal?

The town of Épinal is known throughout Europe for its image-making tradition. Épinal’s image-makers were originally card and decorative paper makers and produced images on sheets of paper from the 18th century onwards, but it was the Pinot and Pellerin image printing houses that really put the town on the map during the 19th century.

The local council decided to make the most of this heritage in 2003 by creating the Musée de l’Image. Situated beside the Imagerie d’Épinal, the Museum currently houses one of the biggest collections of popular French and foreign images (over 100,000) from the 17th century to the present day.

 

Vue de l'exposition permanente

 

What do the images tell us?

By their nature, images are always a reflection of the society that created them. Through these images, the Museum traces the development of our customs, tastes and popular culture. Since it opened, the Museum has organised exhibitions on a variety of different themes, including Napoleon, Perrault's fairy tales, the Americas and the 1960s. It is constantly expanding its offering, comparing the images of yesteryear with those of today, so that each sheds light on the other.



Acquisition de la collection H. George

Michel Heinrich et Henri George

Monsieur Henri George a cédé à la Ville d'Épinal sa collection d’images populaires, certainement la plus remarquable et importante collection privée en France.

 

The Cité de l'Image

La Cité de l'Image (photo © Georges Fessy)

The Musée de l’Image and the Imagerie d’Épinal both stand on the same site known as the Cité de l’Image.

 

Visiting the Musée de l'Image

Vue de l'exposition permanente

Covering an area of 400 sq.m., the permanent exhibition hall presents the history of popular imagery from the 17th century onwards, its engravers, image-making centres, etc.

 

Collections

Vue de l'exposition permanente

The Musée de l’Image houses one of the biggest collections of French and foreign popular images (over 100,000) produced from the 17th century onwards.

 

The life of an image

Restauration d'images en atelier

From the time they are acquired to when they are put on display to the public, images undergo a process that will subsequently make them easier to identify, to use and to preserve.

 

Partnerships

Nuit des étudiants

The Musée de l'Image attaches great importance to networking with other establishments and would not be able to conduct so many activities without the help of its valued partners.

 

Overview of the collections

Aperçu de notre collection

Slide show presenting a selection of about fifty images from the Museum’s collections.

 

Artist commissions

Collection d'oeuvres contemporaines

Discover the work of contemporary artists commissioned by the Museum.

 

Prochaines expositions