The Hôtel de Saint-Aignan, originally the Hôtel d'Avaux, is a 17th-century ''
hôtel particulier
An ''hôtel particulier'' () is a grand townhouse, comparable to the Townhouse (Great Britain), British townhouse or mansion. Whereas an ordinary ''maison'' (house) was built as part of a row, sharing party walls with the houses on either side an ...
'', located at 71 Rue de Temple, in the
3rd arrondissement and the
Marais
Marais (, meaning "marsh") may refer to:
People
* Marais (given name)
* Marais (surname)
Other uses
* Le Marais, historic district of Paris
* Théâtre du Marais, the name of several theatres and theatrical troupes in Paris, France
* Marais (c ...
district of Paris. It was constructed 1644–1650 to the designs of the architect
Pierre Le Muet
Pierre Le Muet (7 October 1591 – 28 September 1669)Mignot 1996. was a French architect, military engineer, and writer, famous for his book ''Manière de bâtir pour toutes sortes de personnes'' (1623 and 1647), and for the châteaux he construc ...
for
Cardinal Mazarin
Cardinal Jules Mazarin (, also , , ; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino () or Mazarini, was an Italian cardinal, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Louis XIII and Louis X ...
's Superintendent of Finances,
Claude de Mesmes, Comte d'Avaux
Claude de Mesmes, comte d'Avaux (1595–1650) was a 17th-century French diplomat and public administrator. He was sent in various missions to Venice, Rome, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Poland by Richelieu.
In 1635 he guided the negotiations ...
, and later purchased by
Paul de Beauvilliers, Duc de Saint-Aignan, who added the grand staircase. It is now the home of the
Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme
The Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme or mahJ (English: "Museum of Jewish Art and History") is the largest French museum of Jewish art and history. It is located in the Hôtel de Saint-Aignan in the Le Marais, Marais district in Paris.
The ...
.
[''Museum Guide'', Musée d'art et d'histoire du judaïsme, 2003, pp. 15-16.][Ayers 2004, pp. 71–72.][Gady 2008, pp. 192–193.][Mignot 1996.]
History
The ''hôtel'' was bought by Paul de Beauvilliers, second Duke of Saint-Aignan, in 1688. He began a campaign to refurbish and modernize the mansion. The second floor was turned into apartments and the gardener
André Le Nôtre
André Le Nôtre (; 12 March 1613 – 15 September 1700), originally rendered as André Le Nostre, was a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France. He was the landscape architect who designed the gar ...
redesigned the garden as a French formal garden.
The Hôtel de Saint-Aignan was confiscated by the French state in 1792 following the French Revolution. It became the headquarters of the seventh municipality of Paris in 1795, then of the seventh arrondissement until 1823. It was then divided into various commercial premises. Pictures from the early 20th century, especially those taken by
Eugène Atget
Eugène Atget (; 12 February 1857 – 4 August 1927) was a French ''flâneur'' and a pioneer of documentary photography, noted for his determination to document all of the architecture and street scenes of Paris before their disappearance to mod ...
and the Frères Seeberger, show the life of Jewish artisans from Russia, Poland, Romania, and Ukraine who lived in the building.
During the roundups of Jews of 1942 by the French Vichy government, several inhabitants of the building were arrested and deported. Thirteen Jewish inhabitants of the Hotel were murdered in the Nazi death camps.
The Hôtel de Saint-Aignan was bought by the City of Paris in 1962 and was classified as a historical monument in 1963.
A first restoration campaign began in 1978 directed by Jean-Pierre Jouve, Chief Architect of the National Office of Historic Monuments and Sites. The second restoration campaign opened in 1991, directed by Bernard Fonquernie, also Chief Architect of the National Office of Historic Monuments and Sites.
At the initiative of the mayor of Paris,
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...
, the ''hôtel'' was chosen in 1986 for the installation of a museum dedicated to Jewish civilization: the Museum of Jewish Art and History.
Architecture
The mansion was built on a large irregular plot of land occupied by the townhouse Claude d’Avaux inherited in 1642. Pierre Le Muet demolished the old building and followed the usual ground plan for large aristocratic mansions: the residence itself set back from the street with a large rectangular courtyard at the rear. The right wing's ground floor housed the kitchen, the servants’ rooms, and the dining room. This area is now the museum's bookshop, where the public can admire a number of exceptional frescos discovered when the building was being restored. An archway led through to a second, smaller courtyard, where the outhouses and stables had their own street entrance. To create a sense of symmetry, Le Muet decorated the blank wall of the adjoining property on the left with pilasters and false windows imitating the right wing. This wall was a remain from a
wall
A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including:
* Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the supe ...
built under
Philippe-Auguste
Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French m ...
at the end of the 12th century.
Paul de Beauvilliers, Duke of Saint-Aignan, bought the mansion in 1688. He undertook a campaign to refurbish and modernize the building, extending the right wing with rooms on the garden side. He built a grand staircase and set up apartments in the old gallery on the second floor. The restorations made in the 20th century used the end of the 17th century as a reference period.
Notes
Bibliography
* Ayers, Andrew (2004). ''The Architecture of Paris''. Stuttgart; London: Edition Axel Menges. .
* Gady, Alexandre (2008). ''Les Hôtels particuliers de Paris du Moyen Âge à la Belle Époque''. Paris: Parigramme. .
* Mignot, Claude (1996)
"Le Muet, Pierre" vol. 19, pp. 144–146, in ''
The Dictionary of Art
''Grove Art Online'' is the online edition of ''The Dictionary of Art'', often referred to as the ''Grove Dictionary of Art'', and part of Oxford Art Online, an internet gateway to online art reference publications of Oxford University Press, ...
'', 34 volumes, edited by Jane Turner, reprinted with minor corrections in 1998. New York: Grove. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hotel De Saint Aignan
Saint Aignan
Buildings and structures in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris
Houses completed in 1650
Ancien Régime French architecture
1650 establishments in France