From Naples to Chantilly:
Queen Caroline Murat’s Collections
From 6 June
to 4 October 2026
Musée Condé – Château de Chantilly
Cabinet d’arts graphiques
60500 Chantilly
The Musée Condé presents “From Naples to Chantilly,” devoted to the collection of Queen Caroline Murat, sister of Napoleon I and a great patron of the arts, nicknamed the “queen of the arts.”
A collection born in Naples,
passed down to Chantilly
Caroline Murat (1782-1839) became Queen of Naples in 1808 alongside her husband Joachim Murat. Passionate about the Bay of Naples and the ancient sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum, she built a remarkable collection, supporting major artists such as Ingres, Rebell and Canova.
The exhibition reconstructs this collection through important loans and recently reattributed or restored works, including Simon Denis’s monumental Panorama of Naples from Capodimonte (1808). It highlights the unique historical link between Naples and Chantilly: the Murat collection, inherited by the Prince of Salerno after the fall of the Empire, was eventually bought in 1854 by Caroline’s son-in-law, Henri d’Orléans, Duke of Aumale, founder of the Musée Condé.
A queen, patron and archaeologist
Beyond a taste for treasures of the past, the exhibition reveals a genuine sense of heritage in the queen, who surrounded herself with the most enlightened scholars of her time, such as the Comte de Clarac and François Mazois. The antiquities held at the Musée Condé bear witness to her archaeological passion and to the scholarly character of her collection.
Curators
Mathieu Deldicque, director of the Musée Condé, and Gennaro Toscano
Exhibition
“From Naples to Chantilly. The Collections of Queen Caroline Murat”
From 6 June to 4 October 2026
Musée Condé – Château de Chantilly
Prince Amyn Aga Khan Cabinet of Graphic Arts,
60500 Chantilly, France
