2023-11-04 19:28:58
For more than thirty years, no object had been moved in this apartment. The things remained in their place, the grand piano, the desk, the books, the golden records – as if time had stood still here on Rue de Verneuil on March 2, 1991. The resident, a certain Serge Gainsbourg, died that day. The famous composer, singer and actor, who is still idolized today, especially in France – as an icon of a Parisian bohemian movement that is still considered très chic.
The prints of his buttocks can still be seen on the sofa, writes his daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg in a letter to the press and to everyone who can now enter this apartment. She often stayed in the uninhabited house and thought of her beloved father, who had died at the age of 62. Sometimes she heard the murmur of people on the street who had come here and left graffiti on the house wall, the letter continued. The actress began thinking about letting her father’s fans in and showing them the rooms where he had lived; for a few years together with her and her mother Jane Birkin. But the daughter was unable to make a decision for a long time; the apartment had become her very own personal retreat.
And then one day Charlotte Gainsbourg decided that now was the time to share her secret and open her father’s apartment to the public.
The graffiti-covered entrance to the house where Serge Gainsbourg lived for 22 years. Alexis Raimbault
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For the actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, her father’s apartment was a place of retreat and remembrance after his death.Jean-Baptiste Mondino
Serge Gainsbourg wore vintage blazers and Yves Saint Laurent
The Maison Gainsbourg now tells the most intimate stories of this artist, his lifestyle and his preferences. Also that of his taste in furnishings and his clothing. When “Je t’aime… moi non plus,” sung with Jane Birkin, became a hit at the end of the 1960s, Gainsbourg preferred to wear the Rive Gauche men’s collection by Yves Saint Laurent, in whose orbit the couple was at the time. Today, Charlotte Gainsbourg is the muse of Anthony Vacarello, the current creative director at Saint Laurent. It was also he who reissued her father’s famous dark blue pinstripe blazer on the occasion of the museum opening.
This vintage blazer was Gainsbourg’s second skin for a time. It was actually a women’s jacket, which can also be seen from the button placket.Alexis Raimbault
The musician bought the blazer in 1973 when he visited the Portobello flea market in London with Jane Birkin. The vintage women’s jacket became his uniform during the 70s and 80s, often combined with a wide unbuttoned shirt. The unsaleable original is on display in the Maison Gainsbourg, the Saint Laurent copy is there as well in the Saint-Laurent online shop available for 2590 euros.
Charlotte Gainsbourg’s parents: Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg (in a pinstripe blazer), 1973 in Nice. Jane Birkin died in July this year. Imago/Cinema Publishers Collection
The Maison Gainsbourg tells a piece of French cultural history, where you can also learn a lot about the famous Parisian style. The historic house at 5 Rue de Verneuil, where Serge Gainsbourg lived for 22 years, is complemented by a second address opposite; Other items belonging to Gainsbourg can be seen at number 14. There is also a boutique and a piano bar here. In Paris, shopping and enjoyment are never forgotten, especially not in a place like this. After all, we are paying homage here to a man who was married several times, liked to have a drink and was no stranger to the Paris police. In short, he lived his life to the fullest. And that’s what visitors to Maison Gainsbourg should do, at least at this moment, in this place.
Gainsbourg House. 14 rue de Verneuil, 75007 Paris.
About Tickets and opening times: www.maisongainsbourg.fr/en
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