Musée Nissim de Camondo

The Musée Nissim de Camondo is a historic house museum of French decorative arts located in the Hôtel Moïse de Camondo at 63, rue de Monceau, on the edge of Parc Monceau in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Opened in December 1936, it preserves one of the world's finest collections of 18th-century French decorative arts within a neo-classical mansion designed by René Sergent. The museum is named for Nissim de Camondo, the only son of its founder, Count Moïse de Camondo, who was killed as a fighter pilot during World War I. Operated by Les Arts Décoratifs, the museum offers a rare intact glimpse into the world of a grand Parisian hôtel particulier as it was lived in during the early 20th century.

The Camondo family were Sephardic Jewish bankers originally from Constantinople who established themselves in Paris in the late 1860s. Moïse de Camondo (1860-1935) inherited his parents' mansion on rue de Monceau in 1910, which had been in family hands since 1873. He immediately demolished it to erect a new building suited to his growing collection of 18th-century French art, commissioning architect René Sergent between 1911 and 1914. The new house was inaugurated in 1911 and combined classical appearance with modern conveniences. Moïse continued acquiring works from major sales, including those of Baron Jérôme Pichon, Jacques Doucet, and Georges Blumenthal, often through the Parisian dealers Seligmann père et fils. In 1924 he decided to bequeath the house and collection to the Union centrale des arts décoratifs in memory of his son Nissim, who had died in aerial combat on 5 September 1917. Following Moïse's death on 14 November 1935, the museum opened in December 1936 according to his wishes. The family's subsequent tragedy deepened the site's poignancy: Moïse's daughter Béatrice de Camondo, her ex-husband Léon Reinach, and their children Fanny and Bertrand were deported to Auschwitz and murdered there, while Moïse's widow Irène survived by escaping to southern France. The hôtel was classified as a historic monument in its entirety, including outbuildings, courtyards, and garden, by decree of 2 March 2005.

The museum houses a spectacular collection of French decorative art from the second half of the 18th century, assembled by Moïse de Camondo over more than fifty years with the aim of recreating an aristocratic 18th-century residence. The collection emphasizes furniture by royal cabinetmakers, Sèvres porcelain, fine silver, tapestries, and paintings, all displayed within their original domestic setting. The holdings reflect Moïse's exclusive passion for French 18th-century art and his meticulous attention to symmetry and historical authenticity.

The collection features works by artisans of the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne, including furniture by Jean-François Oeben, Jean Henri Riesener, and Georges Jacob. The floors are covered with Savonnerie carpets woven in 1678 for the Grande Galerie of the Louvre. Among the paintings are portraits by Élisabeth-Louise Vigée Le Brun, landscapes by Francesco Guardi and Hubert Robert, and hunting scenes by Jean-Baptiste Oudry. The tapestries include Beauvais and Aubusson examples. Table settings of particular note include the Orloff silver dinner service commissioned by Catherine II of Russia from silversmith Jacques-Nicolas Roettiers in 1770, and the Buffon porcelain services made at Sèvres in the 1780s with bird motifs after the naturalist Buffon. Other significant objects include busts by Jean-Antoine Houdon, bas-reliefs, Chinese vases, and crystal chandeliers.

The Hôtel Moïse de Camondo was constructed between 1911 and 1914 by architect René Sergent, with its garden designed by landscape architect Achille Duchêne. The building is openly modeled on the Petit Trianon at Versailles by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, yet incorporates modern infrastructure. Its plan follows the classical Parisian hôtel particulier type with two wings opening onto a garden. The design strictly separates public, private, and servant spaces according to 19th-century conventions: the ground floor connects at courtyard level but forms a basement toward the garden to conceal service areas; a grand staircase serves the reception rooms on the main floor, the private apartments on the first floor, and the servants' quarters in the attic. The building is unique as a comprehensively preserved witness to the functioning of a classical urban palace, with not only the splendid reception rooms but also the service spaces, kitchen, and laundry retained in their original condition. The outbuildings, originally built in 1863, were enlarged by Count Nissim Camondo and later modified by his son Moïse.

The museum is located at 63, rue de Monceau in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, on the edge of Parc Monceau. Three floors are open to visitors: the lower ground floor with kitchens, the upper ground floor with formal rooms, and the first floor with private apartments, along with the gardens. The nearest Paris Métro stops are Villiers and Monceau on Line 2. The museum closed in February 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, then reopened before closing again in August 2024 for renovations, with reopening announced for the beginning of 2027. The house also served as a filming location for the television series Lupin, where it stood in for the home of the fictional Pellegrini family, with scenes shot on the grounds, inside the house, and on the roof.