Musée Jaquemart-André

Yesterday morning, we decided to pay a visit to the beautiful Musée Jaquemart-André for the Poussin and Rubens exhibition, though really, I just wanted to be surrounded for a while by luxury and beautiful objets d'art! The exhibition itself was, I have to say, a bit of a disappointment, mainly due to a great many people in very small rooms...it's hard to read the info on the plaques when there's a lot of jostling going on. I'm not much of a Rubens fan but I love Poussin and thus, I used my elbow power to the maximum until it became just too frustrating!

We walked around this stunning house, the Parisian version of New York City's Frick Museum, and drank in the gorgeous rooms, the lustrous chandaliers, the rich drapes, the tapestries on every wall and the collections including such awe-inspiring artists as Botticelli, Titian, Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt van Rijn, Chardin, Reynolds and Fragonard. Such a beautiful jewel, an oasis in busy Paris. It's true to say that the art collections themselves are known far more for their beauty than their erudition. And although the exhibition (open from 10h-11h and then again from 11h-12h) was crowded, this is a museum known for its peace and quiet and general lack of crowds. Around the rest of the house, I could throw myself into portraits and landscapes with unconscious abandon all the time knowing that everything was just as it had been during the time of Monsieur and Madame André's residence.

What I love most about this museum is the absolute lack of snobbism. Everything is united together just as in a cosy home... At the Jaquemart-André Museum, art of Italian Renaissance or the Flemish school stands alongside a Chinese lacquered secretary desk or a Louis XV chest of drawers. they do not look at all out of place. On the contrary, they are simply breathtaking.

But who was Jaquemart-André? I wanted to know what kind of a man had lived in this perfectly proportioned palace and had such magnificent taste.

Over to Wikipedia which, incidentally, is far more fascinatiing in French, for it tells of André and Rothschild negotiating the contribution that France would have to pay Germany after its capitulation and then managed to get the sum together pretty sharpish after the decision was taken (click HERE for more):

'Edouard André, the scion of a Protestant banking family, devoted his considerable fortune to buying works of art. He then exhibited them in his new mansion built in 1869 by the architect Henri Parent, and completed in 1875. He married a well-known society painter, Nélie Jacquemart, who had painted his portrait 10 years earlier. Every year, the couple would travel in Italy, amassing one of the finest collections of Italian art in France. When Edouard André died, Nélie Jacquemart completed the decoration of the Italian Museum and travelled in the Orient to add more precious works to the collection. Faithful to the plan agreed with her husband, she bequeathed the mansion and its collections to the Institut de France as a museum, and it opened to the public in 1913.'

Aha! I knew it! A woman had a part of it somewhere!!

(Photo: Sorties) Having absorbed the stunning house to the maximum (and there comes a point when one is so overwhelmed one can't absorb anymore), we fancied a cup of tea (as you do!). The Jaquemart-André cafe is a wonderfully elegant old-style tea room in what used to be the former dining room. It has got to be classed as one of the most outstanding settings in Paris where you can sit gazing at the beautiful tapestries on the walls and the incredible Tiepolo ceiling - it's actually hard to sip your tea since the cup seems to halt somewhere in mid-air.... it's all so mesmorising. The café isn't particularly well- known and thus it's not hard to get a table (you don't even need to visit the museum since there's a separate entrance off the street. It certainly beats the Champs Elysées!). Quiches, salads, sandwiches, great pastries and fruit tarts with a nice pot of Ceylon or Darjeeling and a view of the garden...very civilised! And yet another excuse for the imagination to wander, allowing a moment or two to float off into another world - another time.

Even outside one can stop and stare, enchanted, for it is such a perfectly-proportioned building.The facade, on the boulevard Haussmann, was inspired by the Château du Petit Trianon at Versailles.

Jaquemart-André Museum: 158 boulevard Haussmann, 75008 PARIS Telephone: (+33) 01-45-62-11-59) Open every day from 10h-18h Prices: 10-12,50 euros though there are special prices for groups. The Rubens and Poussin Exhibition will continue until February 2011, so there's still plenty of time!

Have a wonderful day!

Comments

[sairj]

Oh, Aylin, they are STILL doing the Aman house??? Can't believe it! Remember when we tried to go together in 2008 and it was meant to be finished by Autumn 2009...? well, looks like you and your mum will have to come to Paris for museums and galleries instead! At least you can go say Hi! to Brancusi!! :o)

[aylinB]

Beautiful post, Sarah! Wish I could also see it..
What I like about these small museums in Paris is that they don't attract so many visitors as Orsay and Louvre yet people still take great care of them. They are conscious about the beauties of their country and present them in the best way they can.
One month ago I thought about going to the Aman museum in here and, guess what? They are STILL renovating it. Since 2008. Such a pity that we simply didn't learn yet what are the important values of this country!

[Nicole]

Thank you darling for refresing my memory. This i indeed, such a gem and you did a great job telling the story of this elegant palace, right in the middlle of Paris.
It alwasy a delight to be a visitor to a beautiful world.