Musée Cognacq-Jay, Art museum in Le Marais, France
The Musée Cognacq-Jay occupies the Hôtel de Donon at 8 rue Elzévir, a late 16th-century mansion whose high roof recalls Philibert Delorme and whose top attic resembles an overturned ship's hull. Its twenty paneled rooms on four floors display about 1,200 18th-century works, including paintings by Chardin, Boucher and Tiepolo, two Rembrandts, and snuffboxes and porcelain.
Ernest Cognacq, founder of La Samaritaine with his wife Marie-Louise Jaÿ, died on 21 February 1928, leaving their 18th-century art collection and a building at 25 boulevard des Capucines to the City of Paris. The museum was inaugurated there on 4 June 1929 by President Gaston Doumergue. It closed on 27 June 1988 and reopened on 18 December 1990 in the restored Hôtel Donon, 8 rue Elzévir.
The rooms showcase paintings by European masters alongside decorative Asian objects that reflect the refined taste of collectors from the 18th century. These works reveal how wealthy families of that era valued both Western and Eastern artistic traditions.
The museum occupies the Hôtel Donon at 8 rue Elzévir, in the 3rd arrondissement; the nearest Métro stations are Saint-Paul, Chemin-Vert and Rambuteau. The collection fills twenty paneled rooms over four floors, so allow time to climb between levels. The grand roof timberwork at the top floor resembles an upturned ship's hull.
The Hôtel Donon's main block dates from the late 16th century, and its tall roof recalls the style of Philibert Delorme; on the top floor the great roof frame is compared to the hull of an overturned ship. The building was fully restored for the museum, with renovation led by Paris chief architect Bernard Fonquernie and interiors by Reoven Vardi.
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