With four centuries of naval and artistic history, the National Maritime Museum now offers a contemporary perspective on the sea. The exhibition The Navy and the painters An illustration of this dialogue between tradition, maritime power, and artistic creativity, from Vernet’s brush to that of contemporary official painters. A preview visit with Bertrand de Saint-Marie, Chief Curator of the museum and Principal Commissioner of the exhibition.

France. National Navy Museum. Paris. Jean Baptiste de La Rose (1612-1687). Port of La Ciotat in 1664. Oil on canvas.

The National Maritime Museum, Located in the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, it is one of the oldest maritime museums in the world. Its origins date back to 1748, when Henri-Louis Duhamel du Monceau, an Inspector General of the Navy and encyclopaedist, presented King Louis XV with a collection of ship models and port machinery. These items were exhibited from 1752 at the Louvre, in a room intended for educational purposes for the engineers of the Royal Navy.

France. National Maritime Museum. Paris. Octave de Champeaux de La Boulaye (1837-1903). Squadron at Toulon, 14 July 1891. Oil on canvas. 1892.


Over the centuries, the museum has grown and established itself permanently at the Palais de Chaillot from 1943. Its objective then went beyond the purely technical aspect: it encompassed maritime history, the role of explorations, merchant shipping, hydrography and pleasure boating, while also integrating ethnographic collections from colonial missions.
Closed in 2017, the institution is undertaking a vast renovation project and is reopening its doors in 2023. It is a major contemporary maritime cultural hub, a space dedicated to the human, technical and artistic issues linked to the sea.

The Navy and Painters – Four Centuries of Art and Power

National Maritime Museum. Paris. Blockade and bombardment of the island of Chios in 1681 by the French squadron of Duquesne pursuing corsairs from Tripoli. Jan Karel Donatus Van Beecq, circa 1684.

To celebrate the 400th anniversary of the French Navy (1626-2026), the museum is presenting a major retrospective that explores the relationship between art, power, and the maritime world, featuring 150 works by 90 artists from the 17th to the 20th centuries. Masters such as Claude Gellée, known as Le Lorrain, Joseph Vernet, Théodore Gudin, Antoine-Léon Morel-Fatio, Édouard Manet, Félix Ziem, Paul Signac, Albert Marquet, Mathurin Méheut, and Marin-Marie are showcased.
The exhibition highlights how marine painters have documented the major stages of French naval power: from the battles of the Royal Navy to the modernist visions of the 20th century, encompassing political affirmation and artistic freedom. The exhibition also emphasises the evolution of the corps of Official Naval Painters (POM), created in 1830 and still active today.

46th Naval Exhibition

National Maritime Museum. Paris. Photograph by Thierry des Ouches. The Blue Boat. 2020. Gelatin silver print.

Presented on the same dates, this Show highlights contemporary creation around the theme «400 years of art and combat», with paintings, sculptures, photographs and digital works celebrating the spirit of camaraderie and human adventure linked to the sea. Rear Admiral David Samson presides over the jury of this exhibition and presents us with the works of numerous candidates for the official title of « Naval Painter »..., which authorises its holders to board ships and be invited to the officers' table...

The Navy and Painters. Four centuries of art and power
From 13 May to 2 August 2026
Palais de Chaillot
17 Trocadéro Place
75016 Paris
01 53 65 69 48

Text and photos: Sylvain Grandadam

by Sylvain Grandadam
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