Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF)

58, Rue de Richelieu, Paris

Bibliothèque nationale de France is the national library of France and one of the most important research institutions in Europe. Its historic site on Rue de Richelieu served as a central resource for scholars, artists, and writers throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

In the postwar period, the Bibliothèque nationale functioned as a key research site for artists and intellectuals working in Paris. For young artists in postwar Paris, access to printed materials, art journals, and historical sources contributed to the development of a practice informed by both contemporary and historical visual culture.

More broadly, the institution played an essential role in preserving and providing access to the documentary infrastructure of the Paris art world, including exhibition catalogues, invitations, and critical publications that underpin the reconstruction of artistic networks in the period.

Multiple locations: 58, Rue de Richelieu, Paris - historic site, and Quai François-Mauriac - Tolbiac site

Exhibitions & Events

Exposition de la Société des peintres-graveurs français

Years: 1946–1968
Manuscrits et livres précieux retrouvés en Allemagne

Years: 1949
L’art du livre en Suède

Years: 1949
Luc-Albert Moreau: Exposition de ses estampes et livres illustrés

Years: 1949

Held on the occasion of the artist’s death, 1882–1948.
La bibliothèque Henri de Rothschild: Manuscrits, dessins, livres précieux légués à la Bibliothèque nationale

Years: 1950
L’art du livre à l’Imprimerie nationale, des origines à nos jours

Years: 1951
La gravure contemporaine aux États-Unis

Years: 1952
Cinq siècles d’affiches illustrées françaises

Years: 1953

Jean Adhémar, Charles Pérussaux, and Jacqueline Amingeat
Le livre contemporain

Years: 1953
André Derain (1880–1954): L’œuvre gravé

Years: 1955
L’art du livre aux États-Unis au XXe siècle

Years: 1955

Exhibition continued 1955–1957. This exhibition establishes an institutional dialogue between France and the United States, precisely at the moment American artists were entering Paris.
Jean Frélaut (1879–1954): L’œuvre gravé

Years: 1956
Présentation de manuscrits et imprimés chinois de Touen-houang (Dunhuang)

Years: 1956
Enrichissements de la Bibliothèque nationale de 1945 à 1960

Years: 1960

Jean Porcher; preface by Julien Cain
Paul Valéry (1871–1945): Livres, manuscrits, dessins

Years: 1966

Marcel Thomas; preface by Julien Cain