Why is the museum called Jacquemart-André?
From bell tower to clock
In the towns of northern and eastern France, the jacquemart was originally a man who kept watch atop a tower and sounded the alarm. When public clocks became widespread, the name was transferred to the mechanical figure that struck the hour on the bell. From a profession, it became a family name—one borne by a young woman born in 1841, who would go on to become a portrait artist.
Why Her First
Nélie Jacquemart painted Édouard André’s portrait in 1872 and married him in 1881. She outlived him by eighteen years, continued to purchase art, won a lawsuit against the André family to keep the house, and then bequeathed the mansion and its collections to the Institut de France in 1912 with specific hanging instructions. The museum’s name reflects this reality: the house came from her. Her portrait and life story are on Nélie Jacquemart.
A Name That Describes the Place
Two names, two collections, one house: Édouard’s 18th-century French and Orientalist works on the ground floor, and the Italian Renaissance pieces from their travels upstairs. The hyphen is not decorative. The building’s history is on the history of the Hôtel André.
Nélie’s first name lives on in the house: the former dining room, beneath its Tiepolo ceiling, has become the tea salon and bears her name.
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
What does the word jacquemart mean?
From the Latin jaccomarchiardus, Jacques-Marc: the bell-tower watchman, later the automaton that strikes the clock bells. See the history of the mansion.
Who were Jacquemart and André?
Nelie Jacquemart, a portraitist, and Édouard André, a banker and collector, married in 1881. Their story is on the Nelie Jacquemart page.
Why is the wife's name first?
Because it was she who bequeathed the house to the Institut de France in 1912. See who owns it.