The Stunning Musée Jacquemart-André Reopens After a Renovation

On September 6, 2024, the Musée Jacquemart-André reopened to the public after a year-long renovation. The Musée Jacquemart-André is a private museum, created from the home of Édouard André (1833–1894) and Nélie Jacquemart (1841–1912), at 158 Boulevard Haussmann in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. In this stunning hôtel particulier, the couple’s wide-ranging collection of Italian, Dutch, and French paintings are once again on display. Works by Botticelli, Canaletto, Tiepolo, van Dyke, Rembrandt, Boucher, Fragonard, and Chardin, hang in their refurbished home.   

Framing this splendid collection is the house, a work of art unto itself. The owner’s taste for the Italian Renaissance is reflected in its chambers and apartments, which are open to visitors. From the Winter Garden, Madame Jacquemart-André’s Louis XV-style bedroom can be accessed via the mansion’s impressive staircase. The Sculpture Gallery contains masterpieces by Donatello and della Robbia. The Florentine Gallery contains sacramental items; choir stalls, and funerary monuments, as well as paintings from the Florentine School. Édouard André himself preferred the works of the Venetian School of artists, some of which are framed overhead in the impressive coffered ceiling.   

When the ceiling of the Smoking Room began to give way, the museum’s management agreed it was time for much-needed renovations. Since September 2023, 6.5 million euros have been spent, financed by the Jacquemart-André Foundation. Upward of 20 highly specialized artisans were called upon to restore the space.  

As part of the grand reopening, the Jacquemart-André is hosting a collection of Renaissance and Baroque masterpieces from the Galleria Borghese in Rome. On display until January 30, 2025 are 40 important works from the Borghese’s collection. Rarely seen outside of Italy, they include offerings by Bernini, and Raphael; Titian’s Venus Blindfolding Cupid and Caravaggio’s Boy with a Basket of Flowers.

A little history of the Jacquemart-André duo  

Édouard André was an extremely important collector. Steeped in his family’s banking money, he became an officer in the personal service of Napoleon III. When released from duty at age 30, he used his substantial fortune to live a sumptuous Parisian life. He began his art collection with small pieces of jewelry, gold, miniatures, tapestries, and paintings by contemporary French artists.  

As part of his new Parisian experience, Édouard André had a magnificent, 5700m2 mansion built on the newly laid out Boulevard Haussmann. Edouard entrusted the project to architect Henri Parent. During the grand-scale reorganization of Paris, Henri Parent was eager to get back at his rival, Charles Garnier, who had won the commission for the Opera. No expense was spared on André’s project. The vast construction, begun in 1869, was designed on a classically symmetrical plan. Parent created a home with spaces for entertaining, and state-of-the-art technical innovations; the mansion incorporated hydraulic partitions that could rise and fall on demand, and an impressive double staircase.  

Six years later, the inauguration of the mansion was a society event. An article in L’Illustration said, “It is impossible to find a more admirable setting. All the celebrities of fashion and elegance were there […] They all shone with the same brilliance. […] Nothing was missing to make Mr. André’s ball one of those sensational parties, whose magnificence is epoch-making.”  

In 1872, the society artist Nélie Jacquemart painted André’s portrait. She would become his counsel on art matters. André went from an enlightened amateur to a collector of masterpieces. Almost 10 years later, Édouard André and Nélie Jacquemart tied the knot. It was said to be a marriage of convenience, not one of love. Nevertheless, they shared an all-encompassing passion for art.  

At Nélie’s urging, the wealthy couple scoured Italian auction rooms to further furnish Édouard’s collection. Through yearly journeys, they amassed one of the finest collections of Italian art in France.  They also trekked through Egypt and Turkey, further adding to their acquisitions.

Nélie: The catalyst and creative force 

Nélie Jacquemart might have destroyed documents explaining her modest beginnings but it is thought that her father was a minor political advocate and her mother a milliner. She was born in 1841 and developed into an artistic talent. She first showed at the Paris Salon at age 22 and her many subsequent commissions allowed her to travel to Italy to study. She was given many awards, including a medal for her 1870 painting of Victor Duruy, France’s Minster of Education, her most important work to date.  

Nélie was reputed to be an excellent portrait painter. She was commissioned to paint President Adolphe Thiers, who loved the steely look she was able to create. In those days Nélie’s work was described as “exceedingly masculine.” But perhaps this was an assessment of her vigorous, independent nature. One critic said it was “as if one can make the acquaintance of the personages she portrays.” A review of the 1870 exhibition at the Palais d’Industrie praised her in the same breath as Rosa Bonheur, Louise Abbema, and Sarah Bernhardt (a sculptor as well as an actress).  

Then fortuitously, in 1872, she painted Édouard André. When she approached 40, Nélie became anxious to get married. When she finally wed her friend and fellow art lover in 1881, she gave up her career for married life. And the rest is “his story.” Perhaps…  

As Édouard André was an only child, and destined to be childless himself, his cousins insisted he sign a marriage contract that established a complete separation of Édouard and Nélie’s properties. But by the time Édouard died at the age of 60, their collections had merged into one. The family brought forth a lawsuit to capture his fortune. However, shortly before his death, Édouard bequeathed all of his assets to his wife. Nélie produced the will, which gave her possession of the entire collection. Alone, Nélie continued to enrich the collections. In 1902, she traveled to India, China, and Japan, acquiring more precious works.   

In 1912, Nélie Jacquemart died in the house on Boulevard Haussmann. Faithful to an agreed-upon plan with her husband, she bequeathed the mansion and its collections to the Institut de France to be opened as a museum, impressing her wishes upon her benefactors. Nélie considered every detail, including the precise location of each work, On December 8, 1913, the museum was opened by French President Raymond Poincaré. The Musée Jacquemart-André was an immediate success. 

DETAILS

Musée Jacquemart-André
158 Bd Haussmann, 8th
Tel: +33 (0)1 45 62 11 59
Open every day from 10 am to 6 pm. Late closure at 10 pm on Fridays during exhibitions, and 8 pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
There’s a lovely onsite restaurant and tea room.