The Guimard Museum, dedicated to Art Nouveau, will open in Paris in 2028.

Paris 16th, 60 rue Jean-de-la-Fontaine. This is the address of the future museum dedicated to Hector Guimard (1867-1942) and Art Nouveau. It will open in 2028 in the Mezzara mansion, built by this architect, who also designed the entrances to the Paris metro.

The "first stage" of the project took place on Friday with the signing of the "promise of a 50-year long lease" for the Mezzara Hotel, by the State, the owner, the Ministry of Culture and Foncière Guimard, in the presence of the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, according to a press release from the ministry.

Built in the 16th arrondissement of the capital in 1910 by Hector Guimard, a leading figure in French Art Nouveau, the Hôtel Mezzara is to house the future museum after "twelve months of restoration work." Its opening date is "planned for January 2028," the ministry added.

The aim is to "enhance and preserve this hotel over the long term. Above all, it is a way of revitalizing it as a museum dedicated to Guimard and Art Nouveau," said Ms. Dati, quoted in the press release.

It "will fill a gap in Parisian cultural offerings and allow people to rediscover the world of the French architect and, more broadly, the abundance and influence of Art Nouveau in France and Europe," she continues.

Unoccupied for almost ten years and designed for a wealthy industrialist, the building has been listed as a historic monument since 2016 with its original interior furnishings.

Considered a masterpiece of Art Nouveau, it is one of Guimard's emblematic creations, including the entrances to the Paris metro with their canopies, green ironwork and street lamps with plant-like lines.

This artistic movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries relies on an aesthetic of curves and decorative motifs, including floral arabesques and ovoid shapes, which prompted its detractors to call it "noodle style."

The restoration work on the future museum, estimated at around six million euros, will be entirely financed by Foncière Guimard, the ministry told AFP.

The final act of the emphyteutic lease should take place "in the coming months," according to Ms. Dati.