Museé Jacquemart-André

Museé Jacquemart-André

 

The Museé Jacquemart-André is located in the 8^eme of Paris. It is an expensive zip code with and impressive collection. The collection was founded by Edouard André and Néile Jacquemart in the late 19^th century. The couple dedicated there later lives to constructing the collection, and estate. The house was constructed in 1881 and is a perfect example of what wealth and power could produce during that time. The museum creates a heritage for the couple, and they live on through their collection. 

Upon entering the mansion you are greeted by a grand entrance way. Each room is decorated in its own color and period style according to its function. The ceilings are decorated with frescos and the collection includes artists such as Rembrant, Vigee- Lebrun, Francois Boucher, Botticelli, and many more. What is interesting about the time that this house was created was that it was just after the revolution. France was going into a new era, and the cities landscape was changing dramatically. Many of the objects that are located within the mansion are taken from other grander town homes such as the fire places and the tapestries. It is recycled furniture that is put to new use. 

The way that the house is displayed is by preservation, the artwork and the rooms have changed ver little since Néile Jacquemart died. Thus this creates another world for the audience; they feel as though they are walking through time. As went with the time each room had a specific purpose, the grand rooms for dancing, the smoking chamber for the men, even the secret passages that line the house were constructed so that Néile could visit her husband when he was ill. What is nice about this museum is that it teaches you about society in the 19^th century, as well as letting you view some spectacular paintings. The indoor winter garden was all the rage during the time and allowed guests to feel like they were outside, when they were inside. “Heritage, as a mode of understanding the past, is inseparable from the displays that it represents it. Put somewhat differently, a heritage display or representation is intentionally, a cultural explicating device.” (204, Hoelscher) 

The intention of the collection was actually made to decorate the mansion. Each painting and sculpture is placed for a specific purpose and is categorized by country. Downstairs you will find French and Flemish painters. While ascending upstairs you walk into a renaissance Italy with ceilings and entrance ways taken from Italian auctions. The art work is early 16^th century, with an incredible selection of the Madonna and Child. The bedrooms are downstairs and to the side of the mansion, the audience can tell the main purpose of the space was entertainment. 

As a money making museum they know their market. It is a small museum in many ways, but also because the collection is not overwhelming it’s the perfect place to spend the afternoon. The museum hosts a restaurant and an extensive gift shop. Since this museum is not as popular as the Louvre or the Pompidou it must make small profits where it can. The Louvre and the Pompidou are called Superstar museums and “have become household names for millions of people. They are able to exploit the economies of scale in reaching out to a large number of people.” (410, Frey and Meier) 

Not being extremely popular is a blessing and a curse. On the one hand you have a select clientele that come for a specific purpose and are willing to spend the extra euro. On the other hand the Louvre is guaranteed to attract a certain number of visitors per day and therefore does not have to worry as much about the profit the museum makes. “Museums have a high fixed cost and low variable cost; the marginal cost of an additional visitor is close to zero; the cost of museums have a dynamic component with is disadvantageous for the enterprise; and opportunity costs constitute a substantial part of the costs of a museum” (399, Frey and Meier) Essentially ever euro counts. In addition to the gift shop and restaurant the Jacquemart-André can also charge for special exhibitions, like the Canaletto exhibition on view now. It seems bizarre and almost like your being extorted for something which is part of Paris’ culture. Yet without charging and creating some form of revenue this museum could never reach it potential. 

This museum is a view into another world. It is seeing how the other half lived, and what they were interested in collecting. Since neither Néile nor Edouard had any children this collection is what they have left a symbol of wealth and beauty. Making this museum another one of the many little gems that Paris has to offer. 

Works Cited

Frey, Bruno S., and Stephan Meier. "Cultural Economics." A Companion to Museum Studies. By Sharon Macdonald. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2006. 398-413. Print.

Hoelscher, Steven. "Heritage." A Companion to Museum Studies. By Sharon Macdonald. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2006. 198-217. Print.