The Hôtel Guimard was a private home located at 9

rue de la Chaussée-d'Antin This "quartier" of Paris got its name from the rue de la Chaussée-d'Antin in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. It runs north-northwest from the Boulevard des Italiens to the Église de la Sainte-Trinité. In the 17th century the ''chemin des Po ...

in Paris, France. Commissioned by the Opera dancer

Marie-Madeleine Guimard Marie-Madeleine Guimard (27 December 1743 — 4 May 1816) was a French ballerina who dominated the Parisian stage during the reign of Louis XVI. For twenty-five years she was the star of the Paris Opera. She made herself even more famous by her lo ...

, it was designed by the architect

Claude-Nicolas Ledoux Claude-Nicolas Ledoux (21 March 1736 – 18 November 1806) was one of the earliest exponents of French Neoclassical architecture. He used his knowledge of architectural theory to design not only domestic architecture but also town planning; as ...

in the neoclassical style, then built from 1770 to 1773. It is noted for having boasted its own 500-seat theater. The building was ultimately demolished as part of the massive urban renewal program headed by

Baron Haussmann Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...

, which largely reshaped the city during the Second French Empire.

History

was a ballerina for the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

. She made her fortune as mistress of the

Prince de Soubise Within the French nobility, the title of "Prince of Soubise" was created in 1667 when the '' sirerie'' of Soubise, Charente-Maritime was raised to a principality for the cadet branch of the House of Rohan. The first prince was François de Rohan (1 ...

and had a

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 ...

(or mansion) in

Pantin Pantin () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2019 its population was estimated to be 59,846. Pantin is located on the edge of the city of Paris and is mainly formed by a plain ...

, a Paris suburb. The Hôtel Guimard was nicknamed the "

Terpsichore In Greek mythology, Terpsichore (; grc-gre, Τερψιχόρη, "delight in dancing") is one of the nine Muses and goddess of dance and chorus. She lends her name to the word "terpsichorean" which means "of or relating to dance". Appearance ...

temple", in reference to Mlle Guimard (Terpsichore was the Muse of dance). The site featured a sculpture titled ''Terpsichore Crowned by Apollo'', a low relief of the Muse of Dance riding a chariot "pulled by Amours surrounded by Bacchantes and Wildlife and followed by the graces of choreography". Above the entrance was a ballet hall with a ceiling painted by Taravel, painter of the king. The theater was a 500-seat masterpiece. It opened on December 8, 1772, ending the shows of the hôtel of Pantin (which included her previous theatre). The first dinner in the hotel was banned by the Archbishop of Paris and the food was taken to a priest for distribution to the poor. Mlle Guimard welcomed as courtesan the financier

Jean-Joseph de Laborde Jean-Joseph, marquis de Laborde (29 January 1724 – 18 April 1794) was a French businessman, '' fermier général'' and banker to the king, who turned politician. A liberal, he was guillotined in the French Revolution. Biography Laborde was b ...

, the bishop of Taranto, and other important persons. In a career of luxury, she offered three dinner parties a week, according to Edmond de Goncourt. One dinner was for the greatest of lords and those of the highest consideration at Court; a second dinner invited writers, artists, and wits that all but rivaled the salon of Mme Geoffrin; a third dinner was devoted to all the most ravishing and lascivious young women. Mlle Guimard uniquely sold her hotel by holding a lottery, selling 2,500 tickets at 120 francs each. On 25 May 1785, the Countess of Lau won the hotel with only one ticket. Lau then sold the hotel for 500,000 francs to the banker

Jean-Frédéric Perregaux Jean-Frédéric Perregaux (1744–1808) was a banker from Neuchâtel (now in Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutio ...

. It was here that

Jacques Laffitte Jacques Laffitte (24 October 1767 – 26 May 1844) was a leading French banker, governor of the Bank of France (1814–1820) and liberal member of the Chamber of Deputies during the Bourbon Restoration and July Monarchy. He was an important fi ...

began his career as a banker, under the tutelage of Perregaux.

History

Notes

Further reading