The Dépôt des marbres (marble depot) of the French Ministry of Public Works was founded on île des Cygnes (Swan Island) in Paris by French minister of finance Jean-Baptiste Colbert. It was used to store marble due to be allocated to artists with state commissions, as well as statues formerly displayed but removed for political and other reasons.
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In 1831 Edme Gaulle was made its inspecteur conservateur. On 6 June 1838 Henri Labrouste was made its architect, and Émile Marras also served at it as a conservateur. It was built in the 17th, at a time when the island still had its original name of the Île aux vaches (Cow Island). In the late 19th century, a number of artist's studios were created in a central pavilion, later occupied by artists such as Isidore Pils, Carolus-Duran, Jean-Paul Laurens and Auguste Rodin.
Sources
Jacques Letheve, Daily Life of French Artists in the 19th Century, trans. by Hilary E. Paddon (London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd, 1972 [1968])