First Empire to July Monarchy (1800–1850)
What happened to the art in the "Muséum national" and the "Musée spécial de l'École française"?
Palace of Versailles
History of the Palace of Versailles Palace of Versailles List of museums in Paris Palace of Versailles Musée de l'Homme
History_of_the_Palace_of_Versailles-First_Empire Palace_of_Versailles-First_Empire_to_July_Monarchy_(1800–1850) List_of_museums_in_Paris-List Palace_of_Versailles-French_Revolution_(1789–1799) Musée_de_l'Homme-Abstract
With the advent of Napoléon and the First Empire, the status of Versailles changed. Paintings and art work that had previously been assigned to "Muséum national" and the "Musée spécial de l’École française" were systematically dispersed to other locations and eventually the museum was closed. In accordance to provisions of the 1804 Constitution, Versailles was designated as an imperial palace for the department of the Seine-et-Oise. While Napoléon did not reside in the château, apartments were, however, arranged and decorated for the use of the empress Marie-Louise. The emperor chose to reside at the Grand Trianon. The château continued to serve, however, as an annex of the Hôtel des Invalides (Mauguin, 1940–1942; Pradel, 1937; Verlet, 1985). Nevertheless, on 3 January 1805, Pope Pius VII, who came to France to officiate at Napoléon's coronation, visited the palace and blessed the throng of people gathered on the "parterre d'eau" from the balcony of the Hall of Mirrors (Mauguin, 1940–1942). 
First Empire to July Monarchy (1800–1850). With the advent of Napoléon and the First Empire, the status of Versailles changed again. Paintings and other art work that had previously been assigned to the "Muséum national" and the "Musée spécial de l'École française" were systematically dispersed to other locations and eventually the museum was closed. In accordance with the provisions of the 1804 Constitution, Versailles was designated as the Imperial palace located in the Department of the Seine-et-Oise. The Bourbon Restoration saw little activity at Versailles. Areas of the gardens were replanted but no significant restoration or modifications of the interiors were undertaken, despite the fact that Louis XVIII would often visit the palace and walk through the vacant rooms (Manse, 2004; Thompson, 2006). Charles X chose the Tuileries Palace over Versailles and rarely visited his former home (Castelot, 2001). With the Revolution of 1830 and the establishment of the July Monarchy, the status of Versailles changed. In March 1832, the "Loi de la Liste civile" was promulgated, which designated Versailles as a crown dependency. Like Napoléon before him, Louis-Philippe chose to live at the Grand Trianon; however, unlike Napoléon, Louis-Philippe did have a grand design for Versailles. In 1833, Louis-Philippe proposed the establishment of a museum dedicated to “all the glories of France,” which included the Orléans dynasty and the Revolution of 1830 that had put him on the throne of France. For the next decade, under the direction of Eugène-Charles-Frédéric Nepveu and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine, the château underwent major alterations (Constans, 1985; 1987; Mauguin, 1937; Verlet, 1985). The museum was officially inaugurated on 10 June 1837 as part of the festivities that surrounded the marriage of the Prince royal, Ferdinand-Philippe d'Orléans with princess Hélène of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and represented one of the most ambitious and costly undertakings of Louis-Philippe's reign. Over, the emperor at the king's home – Napoléon at Louis XIV's; in a word, it is having given to this magnificent book that is called French history this magnificent binding that is called Versailles" (Victor Hugo). The "aile du Midi," was given over to the "galerie des Balles", which necessitated the demolition of most of the apartments of the Princes of the Blood who lived in this part of the palace during the Ancien Régime. The "galerie des Batailles" was an epigone of the "Grande galerie" of the Louvre Palace and was intended to glorify French military history from the Battle of Tolbiac (traditionally dated 495) to the Battle of Wagram (5–6 July 1809). While a number of the paintings displayed in the "galerie des Batailles" were of questionable quality, a few masterpieces, such as the "Battle of Taillebourg" by Eugène Delacroix, were displayed here. Part of the "aile du Nord" was converted for the "Salle des Croisades", a room dedicated to famous knights of the Crusades and decorated with their names and coats of arms. The apartments of the dauphin and the dauphine as well as those of Louis XV's daughters on the ground floor of the "corps de logis" were transformed into portrait galleries. To accommodate the displays, some of the "boiseries" were removed and either put into storage or sold. During the Prussian occupation of the palace in 1871, the "boiseries" in storage were burned as firewood (Constans, 1985; 1987; Mauguin, 1937; Verlet,1985).
On 6 October 1789, the royal family had to leave Versailles and move to the Tuileries Palace in Paris, as a result of the Women's March on Versailles. During the early years of the French Revolution, preservation of the palace was largely in the hands of the citizens of Versailles. In October 1790, Louis XVI ordered the palace to be emptied of its furniture, requesting that most be sent to the Tuileries Palace. In response to the order, the mayor of Versailles and the municipal council met to draft a letter to Louis XVI in which they stated that if the furniture was removed, it would certainly precipitate economic ruin on the city (Gatin, 1908). A deputation from Versailles met with the king on 12 October after which Louis XVI, touched by the sentiments of the residents of Versailles, rescinded the order. However, eight months later, the fate of Versailles was sealed. On 21 June 1791, Louis XVI was arrested at Varennes after which the "Assemblée nationale constituante" accordingly declared that all possessions of the royal family had been abandoned. To safeguard the palace, the "Assemblée nationale constituante" ordered the palace of Versailles to be sealed. On 20 October 1792 a letter was read before the National Convention in which Jean-Marie Roland de la Platière, interior minister, proposed that the furnishings of the palace and those of the residences in Versailles that had been abandoned be sold and that the palace be either sold or rented. The sale of furniture transpired at auctions held between 23 August 1793 and "30 nivôse an III" (19 January 1795). Only items of particular artistic or intellectual merit were exempt from the sale. These items were consigned to be part of the collection of a museum, which had been planned at the time of the sale of the palace furnishings. In 1793, Charles-François Delacroix deputy to the Convention and father of the painter Eugène Delacroix proposed that the metal statuary in the gardens of Versailles be confiscated and sent to the foundry to be made into cannon (Gatin, 1908). The proposal was debated but eventually it was tabled. On 28 floréal an II (5 May 1794) the Convention decreed that the château and gardens of Versailles, as well as other former royal residences in the environs, would not be sold but placed under the care of the Republic for the public good (Fromegot, 1903). Following this decree, the château became a repository for art work confiscated from churches and princely homes. As a result collections were amassed at Versailles that eventually became part of the proposed museum (Fromegot, 1903). Among the items found at Versailles at this time were a collection of natural curiosities that has been assembled by the sieur Fayolle during his voyages in America. The collection was sold to the comte d'Artois and was later confiscated by the state. Fayolle, who had been nominated to the "Commission des arts", became guardian of the collection and was later, in June 1794, nominated by the Convention to be the first "directeur du Conservatoire du Muséum national de Versailles" (Fromageot, 1903). The next year, André Dumont the people's representative, became administrator for the department of the Seine-et-Oise. Upon assuming his administrative duties, Dumont was struck with the deplorable state into which the palace and gardens had sunk. He quickly assumed administrative responsibilities for the château and assembled a team of conservators to oversee the various collections of the museum (Fromageot, 1903). One of Dumont's first appointments was that of Huges Lagarde as bibliographer of the museum, on "10 messier an III" (28 June 1795). Lagarde was a wealthy soap merchant from Marseille with strong political connections, With the abandonment of the palace, there remained no less than 104 libraries which contained in excess of 200,000 printed volumes and manuscripts. Lagarde, with his influential contacts and his association with Dumont, became the driving force behind Versailles as a museum at this time. Lagarde was able to assemble a team of curators including sieur Fayolle for natural history and, Louis Jean-Jacques Durameau, the painter responsible for the ceiling painting in the Opéra, was appointed as curator for painting (Fromageot, 1903). Owing largely to the political vicissitudes that occurred in France during the 1790s, Versailles succumbed to further degradations. Mirrors were assigned by the finance ministry for the payment of debts incurred by the Republic; and draperies, upholstery, and fringes were confiscated and sent to the mint to recover the gold and silver used in their manufacture. Despite its designation as a museum, Versailles served as an annex to the Hôtel des Invalides pursuant to the decree of 7 frimaire an VIII (28 November 1799), which commandeered part of the palace for use as a military hospital. Wounded soldiers were housed in the "petit apartment du roi" (Gatin, 1908). In 1797, the "Muséum national" was reorganised and renamed "Musée spécial de l'École française" (Dutilleux, 1887). The "grands appartements" were used as galleries in which the "morceaux de réception" submitted by artists seeking admission to the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture during the 17th and 18th centuries, the series "The Life of Saint Bruno" by Eustache Le Sueur and the "Life of Marie de Médicis" by Peter Paul Rubens were placed on display. The museum, which included the sculptures in the garden, became the finest museum of classic French art in existance (Verlet, 1985). 
The "Musée de l'Homme" (French, "Museum of Man"), is an anthropology museum in Paris, France. It was established in 1937 by Paul Rivet for the 1937 "Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne". It is the descendant of the "Musée d'Ethnographie du Trocadéro", founded in 1878. The "Musée de l'Homme" is a research center under the authority of various ministries, and it groups several entities from the CNRS. The "Musée de l'Homme" is one of the seven departments of the "Muséum national d'histoire naturelle". The "Musée de l'Homme" occupies most of the Passy wing of the "Palais de Chaillot" in the 16th arrondissement. The vast majority of its collection was transferred to the "Quai Branly" museum. 