http://cymaticsconference.com/steven-halpern/ Since we planned to hit two museums today, we got an early start and got to the Musee Jacquemart Andre 158 Bd Haussman near the Miromesnil Metro. We chuckled as they had ropes and aisles laid out to keep the ticket area in order and we walked right in and purchased tickets. The museum was built in the mid-to-late 1800’s and formally inaugurated as the residence of Eduoard Andre in 1876 (making it younger then our house!) Andre married his wife Nelie Jacquemart in 1881, after she painted a portrait of him in 1872. The architecture, paintings, furniture and objets d’art making up this museum are absolutely wonderful. We ended up spending over 2 ½ hours in this museum on a bright sunny day! With the price of admission (10€) you get an audio guide to get you through the collections of Fragonard, Boucher, Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Bellini, Boticelli, etc. The Grand Salon’s walls were covered with decorative panels, crown moulding, etc. It features a system whereby the lateral walls connecting it to the Music Room and the Picture Gallery could fold away through the use of hydraulic jacks to open the space to accommodate a larger number of guests – the original open concept floor plan! Each room was more sumptuous than the last – our favorite being the Jardin d’hiver with its two marble spiral staircases. Photos were not allowed at all, so we bought a book about the house and its collections. In the study with its red walls, their personal collection included 3 Rembrandts and 3 Van Dycks, as well as other Dutch works. They were protected by a sophisticated security system that relied on the weight of each painting. Just below the crown molding, they had installed a 2 by 6 board to hide all the security mechanisms and from which to hang art in the other rooms. Disappointing, however, were the window treatments, pinch pleated panels with little trim and held back by tie backs. Of course the renovation of the museum in 1991 had replaced them; but, the sun had really damaged the silk in the 17 years since. A temporary exhibit of Van Dyck portraits had just opened on 8 October and by the time we got to that part, the museum was packed. We made our way through the Van Dyck portraits and left the museum about 12:30. There was a long line waiting to get in as we left. We were so taken by the museum that we decided to skip the d’Orsay – at least today.
We went back to the apartment for a roasted chicken lunch from the street market along boulevard Grennelle and then on to Tuilerries to sit in the sun, people watch and talk about the Jaquemart-Andre. As the sun dropped lower, the temperature did as well; so we left Tuileries, walking past the pond where the children had rented boats to float (moved from the central large pond to the smaller one on the Seine side) and walked over to watch the young people roller-blading in the square by the Louvre-Rivoli metro stop. Some were quite good! We ate dinner out at a corner bistro two blocks from the apartment and then settled in to watch American Gangster.
