Jacquemart-André Mansion/Museum

Part of the front of the Mansion

This is one of our favorite places to visit in Paris.  It is not an art museum per se although it has a marvelous collection of Italian art, sculpture, mantelpieces, paneling, furniture, etc.  There are also Tiepolo ceilings and frescoes from a Venetian palace. The mansion is a home - an example of an upper class bourgeois residence in Nineteenth century Paris. 

Tiepolo Fresco 

You enter the home of a couple who were inveterate art collectors. You see their art in the context of where they lived their daily lives and entertained on a grand scale.  The upper floor is their private museum where only their best friends were invited.

The architect was the runner-up in the competition for the Paris Opera House  

There are other pluses to Jacquemart-André.  The admission includes an excellent audio guide.  You can either do a quick tour with only general room explanations or you can listen to more detailed descriptions of the life of the couple, information on paintings and artists, or just walk through the home and enjoy the overall ambiance.  For €3 we added descriptions of the special exhibit – well worth the price!  You could download audio guides to your I-Phone or Android for €1 – this is a trend in France.   

The Mansion is also the site of many special exhibits.  We just missed one on the Caillebotte brothers that we would have loved.  Yes - there were brothers!  The lesser known, Martial, was a photographer – who knew? 

We did get to see the new exhibit on Fra Angelico – the 15^th century Italian artist.  Renaissance Italian religious art is not my usual cup of tea – but this was a fascinating exhibit – the first retrospective in a French museum.  Paintings and illustrated manuscripts came from museums and collections from all over Europe.  Several paintings had been restored for this exhibit.  The colors and the use of light were amazing. 

Edouard André and Nélie Jacquemart left their home to the Institute of France which opened the home to the public in 1913.  Edouard was the heir to a large banking family.  He built the mansion in 1875.  Nélie was a well-known portrait artist who first met Edouard when she painted his portrait.

The Mansion/Museum is open 365 days and stays open late some evenings.  It is a good place to remember if you find yourself in Paris on a Holiday.