The Nissim de Camondo Museum: Testament to a Lost Era, and Family

Why this small museum overlooking the Parc Monceau deserves more attention

Drawing room at the Musée Nissim de Camondo in Paris/Image by Courtney Traub

Dear Subscribers,

My “Beau-Papa” (father-in-law, but I prefer the comparative warmth of the French term) recently recommended that I visit a Parisian museum I’d never heard of before— a mansion overlooking the Parc Monceau that one might call a “folly”, in that the exteriors and interiors attempt to recreate an aristocratic 18th-century abode.

Despite my decided lack of enthusiasm for 18th-century art, furniture and antiques, the (tragic) backstory of the Musée Nissim de Camondo left me sufficiently intrigued to pay a visit.