The Making of the Great Museums of Paris: The Making of the Museum of the Great Century

Alexandre Gady will describe the many steps involved in the creation of an entirely new museum, the Museum of the Great Century – the 17th century of Louis XIII and Louis XIV – which is scheduled to open at the end of 2027: the creation of its collection, the construction of the building to display it, the recruitment of a team of curators and others to manage its collection and to arrange programming, and the financing of such an ambitious project.

About the Presenter

Alexandre Gady

Alexandre Gady is the Director of the Mission of Prefiguration for the upcoming Musem of the Great Century (Museé du Grand Siècle).

About the Series Curator and Moderator

Russell Kelley

Russell Kelley was the curator and moderator of the past five winters’ Zoom lecture series on the History and Heritage of France featuring the “Grands Châteaux of the Loire and Île de France”, “The Making of the French Garden”,  “The Great Churches of Paris”, “The Making of the Great Museums of Paris – From the Revolution Until 1900”, and “World Monuments in Paris”. He is the author of The Making of Paris: The Story of How Paris Evolved from a Fishing Village into the World’s Most Beautiful City (Lyons Press, 2021) and Walking Through the Ages of Paris – Ten Historical Walking Tours Through the City of Light (Lyons Press, to be published in 2026), and has lived in Paris for more than 30 years.