Who was Nélie Jacquemart ?
The Portrait Painter
Before the house, there was a studio. Nélie Jacquemart painted portraits, and people came to her for that. In 1872, the commission for Édouard André’s portrait brought her into the mansion on Boulevard Haussmann, which had recently opened. She was thirty-one; he was thirty-nine. This portrait is the first thing that comes to mind when I walk through the private apartments, because it explains everything that follows. The tour is available in the what to see, room by room section.
The 1881 marriage
Nine years after the portrait, they marry. The museum discreetly states « despite different religious and political backgrounds »: he, from a family of Protestant bankers, a former officer in the Imperial Guard, a former deputy ; she, from elsewhere. They have no children. Instead, they buy. Every year, Italy and the Near East ; Uccello, Mantegna, Bellini, Renaissance sculptures—everything that now makes up the museum’s Italian collection on the upper floor. She has the eye, and the house’s caretakers willingly say so.
Édouard, in contrast
Édouard André (1833–1894) had started alone, as early as 1860, with Delacroix, the Orientalists, and the Barbizon School, then the French 18th century: Chardin, Boucher, Fragonard, which can be seen in the Painting Room. He had the house built by Henri Parent between 1869 and 1875. The couple forms two collections under one roof, and the contrast is evident from one floor to the next. The building’s history is detailed in the history of the Hôtel André.
1894: the trial
Édouard dies in 1894. The André family contests the will, but Nélie wins a lawsuit to keep the house. She lives there for another eighteen years, continues to buy, and in 1902 acquires the royal abbey of Chaalis, which she fills in turn. She is not a widow who preserves—she is a collector who carries on.
1912: the bequest
Upon her death in 1912, she bequeaths the mansion, Chaalis, and the collections to the Institut de France, with precise hanging instructions. The museum opens on December 8, 1913, inaugurated by President Poincaré, and the hanging still follows her instructions. The museum’s name combines hers and her husband’s, in that order, which I explain in why « Jacquemart ». The dining room where she entertained is now Le Nélie, the tea room, and it bears her first name.
What works
- The 1872 portrait, in the private apartments
- The Italian museum on the upper floor, as much her work as Édouard’s
- A hanging true to the 1912 bequest
- A tea salon bearing her name, no ticket required
Things to know
- The private apartments are small : avoid Saturday afternoons
- Chaalis is outside Paris and not on this site
- Buy your ticket at the museum, not on GetYourGuide
- On opera evenings, the private apartments are seen in passing, not lingered in
Look at Madame’s bedroom, then Monsieur’s, in that order. Two people
who lived side by side for over twenty years without resembling each other, and a house that understood.
An Evening in Nélie's Salons
The opera evening continues through the ground-floor salons after closing, with a glass of champagne. Dates are listed below.
Reminder: the above evening event is booked via GetYourGuide, but the museum entry ticket is purchased at the museum ticket office or at the desk at 158.
Frequently asked questions
Was Nélie Jacquemart a painter?
Yes, a recognized portraitist. She painted Édouard André in 1872, nine years before marrying him. The private apartments are described in what to see.
Why is the museum called Jacquemart-André and not André-Jacquemart?
The name combines that of the wife and the husband, in that order, because it was she who bequeathed the house. See why Jacquemart.
What became of the house after her death ?
Bequeathed to the Institut de France in 1912, it opened as a museum on December 8, 1913. See who owns it.
Is the tea room named after her ?
Yes, Le Nelie occupies the former dining room, beneath Tiepolo’s ceiling, and can be visited without a ticket or reservation. See the tea room.