Snooping through fabulous people's houses in Paris
Alone in Paris volume 2 Museums
HOUSE MUSEUMS
House Museums? Paris has loads of them!
Does the following sound interesting?
Interior design (and snooping),
To see the fabulous photos I took at each house.
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I love interior design. Everyone in my family does.
As a charming adolescent I used to mock my mom’s obsession with her home design magazines and constant DIY house projects (she is very handy). She and her sister Madeline (known as Duke) would “road show” to the fabric factories in Connecticut and buy bolts of chintz that they may or may not have had a reason to get. Under every bed in the house was a stash of fabric. I still have the slipcovers, curtains and shams from my first apartment that mom made from a factory seconds bolt. Want to see a photo? Dm me and I’ll pop it on Instagram (@womenssurvivalguide)
House museums tick all three boxes: design, snooping, and historical fantasy.
My Dad’s mom was particularly keen on home design and worked with well-known decorators in her time. In fact, when she passed away unexpectedly at 82, she had just sent out all her lampshades and furniture to be recovered.
And I had my own interior decorating company for eight years!
In Boston, we have several fantastic “house museums,” including The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the Nichols House Museum. In fact, I am on the board of The Nichols House and have taken it upon myself (def no one asked me) to visit house museums wherever I go. I also love to snoop and think about life in different eras.
House museums tick all three boxes: design, snooping, and historical fantasy.
Being alone and checking out museums is pretty dreamy. I know it is nice to share the experience and talk about what you’ve seen with someone — I agree. But it is so nice to take your own time and not worry that someone is getting bored. There were some places I just about ran through, and others I took hours to explore. It didn’t matter about the size of the house; some are just going to be more interesting to you.
Museums I visited:
Musée Cernuschi and the Parc Morceau The Cernuschi is quite impressive to look at. It is adjacent to the Parc Morceau which is a lovely park. It has a rich history you can read about here. I was more curious about the history of the house than the art and the house is now an elegant venue to hold Henri Cernuschi’s (1821-1896) enormous asian art collection he donated to the City of Paris upon his death. Worth stopping into as it is free and right next to the park!
Musée National Gustave Moreau Moreau was a famous French painter and leader of the Symbolist movement in the mid to late 19th century. He left his house, which contains his double height studio with grand sculptural stair case, to the City of Paris. The museum has continued since his death to be open to the public, it holds hundreds of his works. It’s a quick stop but worth a visit.
By far the best snoop to be had (I have a feeling the Musée Jacquemart-André is even better…see below). The Camondo is a palace on the edge of Parc Monceau and patterned on the Petit Trianon at Versailles, but with modern conveniences1. It’s huge and fascinating. I love to see how a house is laid out. The entry, the public rooms, the private rooms, but the behind the scenes may be my favorite.
At Camondo, you see where the staff ate their meals and the whole of the kitchen behind the scenes. It’s fascinating to see the way staff were treated in each house. Camondo staff were treated well, it seems, with large windowed spaces that were state of the art at the time. The private bathrooms (a big deal, see photos above) and bedrooms of the Count and Countess as well as their offices are a treat to see.
The Camondo story is a tragic one. They lost their only son in WW I. He was a fighter pilot and gave his life for France. There was no one to take over the family business, his parents were heartbroken and they donated the house, furnishings and art to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs to be named after their son, Nissan. The father died in 1935 and his will established the museum. Then came the German occupation of France during World War II, the Camondos were Jewish. Many of their friends were not and they had converted to Catholicism years before, they thought they were safe. They were not. The mother escaped to the South of France, but her daughter and her grandchildren children were sent to Auschwitz where they were killed.
Musée Jacquemart-André is closed ‘til September 2024, but I get the feeling this is the mother of all house museums in Paris…a must see!
Musée national Jean-Jacques Henner The Henner house is eclectic and the former home of the famous French painter, Henner. You will see his works at many Paris museums including the Petit Palais. The house has a quirky stair case (above), elegant central hall (see the photo at the blog top, far right), a great room and impressive Winter room (above).
Musée Carnavalet A must see. I had never come across the history of Paris museum and it’s great! Housed in a truly exquisite building that surrounds a formal garden, the museum covers the history of Paris from Prehistoric times and the Middle Ages to today. Over a number of floors one experiences history through authentic vignettes and whole rooms from long-gone houses installed in the museum. Here is how the museum describes its home: “The Hôtel des Ligneris (known as “Carnavalet”) is one of the rare examples of Renaissance architecture in Paris, along with the Louvre’s Cour Carrée. Built in the mid-16th century (1548-1560) for Jacques des Ligneris, President of the Paris Parliament, it is one of the oldest Marais District private mansions in Paris.”2
Musée Cognacq-Jay Another home decor fun stop. “The Musée Cognacq-Jay presents exhibitions which aim to expand visitors’ understanding of French art and society in the eighteenth century, but also of the fascination which the Age of Enlightenment continues to evoke in our own day and age.”3 The founder of the museum sought to show what life was like in Paris in the 18th century and was considered to be an extension of the Carnavalet, above, which houses the history of Paris museum. This is a must see for those who like to see full room vignettes not just a museum piece here and there. I loved the building and the Marais in which it is located!
Maison de Victor Hugo: This little museum packs a satisfying punch. First, it’s in the Place des Voges. Second, it’s a home that looks as it did when the acclaimed author lived there. (ICYF: Hugo wrote The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Les Miserables). I am a big fan of this little museum. It reveals the personality of the family Hugo and provides another dimension to the famous author whose work we all know. At the top of this post on the far left is a photo of the dining room. Hugo made a lot of his own furnishings and they are whimsical and funny. (Photo at the top on the far left).
Petit Palais Well, hello! This is a bang up museum and “petit” it is not. It’s big. There are some works that are well known but better, there are many fantastic works that are visual essays of the eras in which they were created (like the one above). Sculpture, paintings, jewelry are housed in this architectural jewel that was designed for the 1900 World’s Fair. The ceiling murals are wild..so don’t forget to look up. The garden in the middle is a stunner. The museum houses all the greats: Rembrandt, Delacroix (I missed his museum), Morisot, Rodin (you must see his museum, too!), Cézanne, Cassat, Monet among others. I need to post the photos another time…Substack says I am over my limit, maybe instagram!
Palais Galliera Musée Du La Mode Another easy one to go see. Plus, there are some great bistros nearby. The building is a big wow and the exhibits are super cool. One exhibit is all about the clothing of movement: old timey swimming, riding, golf and hiking…what women wore was nuts!! A lady could drown in what they swam in. Who decided on who wore what? I wonder…
A truly fantastic week. I hope you found my list helpful and informative! Please reach out to me if there is anything you want to know because I cannot post any more photos on this post, sadly.
XO
K
HAPPY 4TH!
Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musée_Nissim_de_Camondo
https://www.carnavalet.paris.fr/en/museum/history
https://www.museecognacqjay.paris.fr
I so love all of these and feel like we only spent time in two of them when we lived there... Now, if I ever have the chance--I want to bring my girls back to visit them all. Thank you for such a rich and thoughtful post!