The Musée Nissim de Camondo is a non-profit house museum located in the Hôtel Camondo, 63, rue de Monceau, at the edge of the Parc Monceau

Parc Monceau

Parc Monceau is a semi-public park situated in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, at the junction of Boulevard de Courcelles, Rue de Prony and Rue Georges Berger. At the main entrance is a rotunda. The park covers an area of 8.2 hectares ....

, VIIIe arrondissement

VIIIe arrondissement

The 8th arrondissement of Paris is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France.Situated on the right bank of the River Seine and centred on the Opéra, the 8th is, together with the 1st and 9th arrondissements and 16th arrondissement and 17th arrondissement, one of Paris's main...

, Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

The mansion was built in 1911 by the Comte Moïse de Camondo

Moïse de Camondo

Count Moïse de Camondo was an Ottoman Empire born Italian origin French banker. As a child, Camondo moved with his family, from their home in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire, to Paris where he grew up and continued his father's career as a banker...

, a banker, with architect René Sergent

René Sergent

René Sergent was a noted French architect.-Biography:Sergent was trained at the École spéciale d'architecture, where he concentrated on French architecture of the 18th century but also studied British contemporaries such as Robert Adam, then entered the architectural office of Ernest Sanson where...

, to set off his collection of eighteenth-century French furniture and art objects. Its design was patterned upon the Petit Trianon

Petit Trianon

The Petit Trianon is a small château located on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France.-Design and construction:...

 at Versailles

Versailles

Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...

, though with modern conveniences. Both house and collections were bequeathed to Les Arts Décoratifs

Les Arts Décoratifs

Les Arts Décoratifs is a private, non-profit museum of decorative arts located in Paris, France.The museum dates to 1882, when collectors with an interest in the applied arts formed the initial organization. For many years it was known as the Union centrale des Arts décoratifs , but in December...

 in honor of his son, Nissim de Camondo

Nissim de Camondo

Nissim de Camondo was a French banker. Named for his grandfather, he was born into the Camondo family of Paris, the son of the prominent and wealthy Jewish banker, Moïse de Camondo. As the only son of two children, Nissim de Camondo was expected to take over the family business...

, killed in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, and opened as a museum in 1935. More tragedy followed when a few years later Moise’s daughter and her family were deported to Auschwitz where they died.

Today the house is maintained as if it were still a private home preserved in its original condition. Three floors are open to visitors: the lower ground floor (kitchens), upper ground floor (formal rooms), and first floor (private apartments).

The house's furnishings include needlepoint chairs and work by artisans of the Garde Meuble Royal (Royal Furniture Repository) such as Jean-François Oeben

Jean-François Oeben

Jean-François Oeben, or Johann Franz Oeben was a French cabinetmaker whose career was spent in Paris. He is the maternal grandfather of the painter Eugène Delacroix....

, Jean Henri Riesener

Jean Henri Riesener

Jean-Henri Riesener was the French royal ébéniste, working in Paris, whose work exemplified the early neoclassical Louis XVI style"....

, and Georges Jacob

Georges Jacob

Georges Jacob was one of the two most prominent Parisian master menuisiers, producing carved, painted and gilded beds and seat furniture and upholstery work for the French royal châteaux, in the early Neoclassical style that is usually associated with Louis Seize.Jacob arrived in Paris in 1754 and...

. Floors are furnished with Savonnerie

Savonnerie

The Savonnerie manufactory was the most prestigious European manufactory of knotted-pile carpets, enjoying its greatest period ca. 1650–1685; the cachet of its name is casually applied to many knotted-pile carpets made at other centers...

 carpets woven in 1678 for the Grande Galerie in the Louvre

Louvre

The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...

, and walls accented with tapestries (many Beauvais

Beauvais

Beauvais is a city approximately by highway north of central Paris, in the northern French region of Picardie. It currently has a population of over 60,000 inhabitants.- History :...

 or Aubusson

Aubusson, Creuse

Aubusson is a commune in the Creuse department in the Limousin region in central France.-Geography:...

), and paintings including portraits by Élisabeth-Louise Vigée Le Brun

Élisabeth-Louise Vigée Le Brun

Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun was a French painter, and is recognized as the most famous female painter of the 18th century. Her style is generally considered Rococo and shows interest in the subject of neoclassical painting...

, landscapes by Guardi and Hubert Robert

Hubert Robert

Hubert Robert , French artist, was born in Paris.His father, Nicolas Robert, was in the service of François-Joseph de Choiseul, marquis de Stainville a leading diplomat from Lorraine...

 and hunting scenes by Jean-Baptiste Oudry

Jean-Baptiste Oudry

Jean-Baptiste Oudry was a French Rococo painter, engraver, and tapestry designer. He is particularly well known for his naturalistic pictures of animals and his hunt pieces depicting game.-Biography:...

. Table setting are of particular interest, especially the Orloff silver dinner service commissioned by Catherine II of Russia

Catherine II of Russia

Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...

 from silversmith Jacques-Nicolas Roettiers

Jacques-Nicolas Roettiers

Jacques-Nicolas Roettiers was a Flemish goldsmith and silversmith active in Paris and, in concert with his father, said to be the most fashionable Parisian silversmith of his day....

 in 1770, and the Buffon porcelain services made at Sèvres

Sèvres

Sèvres is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.The town is known for its porcelain manufacture, the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres, making the famous Sèvres porcelain, as well as being the location of the International Bureau of Weights...

 in the 1780s with a bird theme. Other notable objects include a bust by Jean-Antoine Houdon

Jean-Antoine Houdon

Jean-Antoine Houdon was a French neoclassical sculptor. Houdon is famous for his portrait busts and statues of philosophers, inventors and political figures of the Enlightenment...

, bas-reliefs, Chinese vases, and crystal chandeliers.

External links

• Musée Nissim de Camondo (detailed)
• Musée Nissim de Camondo (overview)