Petit Palais

The Petit Palais (Small Palace) is a museum in Paris, France. Built for the Universal Exhibition in 1900 to Charles Girault 's designs, it now houses the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts (musée des beaux-arts de la ville de Paris). Arranged around an octi-circular courtyard and garden, the palace is similar to the nearby Grand Palais. Its ionic columns, grand porch and dome echo those of the Invalides across the river. The tympanum depicting the city of Paris surrounded by muses is the work of sculptor Jean Antoine Injalbert. The current exhibits are divided into sections: the Dutuit Collection of medieval and Renaissance paintings, drawings and objets d'art; the Tuck Collection of 18th century furniture and the City of Paris collection of paintings.

The museum displays paintings by painters such as Rembrandt, Rubens, Nicolas Poussin, Claude Gellée, Fragonard, Hubert Robert, Greuze and a remarkable collection of 19th century painting and sculpture: Ingres, Géricault, Delacroix, Courbet, Monet, Sisley, Pissarro, Cezanne, Modigliani, Carpeaux, Maillol, Rodin etc. The Petit Palais has served as a model for other public buildings, notably for the Royal Museum for Central Africa near Brussels, Belgium, and the Museo de Bellas Artes (Fine Arts Museu) in Santiago, Chile. The museum displays a remarkable collection of paintings and sculptures.