| Just a few blocks to the south of the Parc de Monceau, at 158 boulevard Haussmann, stands the lavishly ornamented palace of the nineteenth-century banker and art-lover Édouard André and his wife, former society portraitist Nélie Jacquemart. Built in 1870 to grace Baron Haussmann's grand new boulevard, the Hôtel André is now the Musée Jacquemart-André (daily 10am–6pm; www.musee-jacquemart-andre.com; €8; M° Miromesnil/St-Philippe-du-Roule), housing the couple's impressive private art collection and a fabulous salon de thé – the meeting place of the elegant and discreet. Bequeathed to the Institut de France by Édouard's widow, the Hôtel André deploys the couple's collection exactly as they ordained. Nélie painted Édouard's portrait in 1872 – on display in what were their private apartments on the ground floor – and nine years later they were married, after which Nélie gave up her painting career and the pair devoted their spare time to collecting art, travelling around Europe for six months of the year searching for pieces. Their preference for Italian art is evident in the stunning collection of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century genius, including the works of Tiepolo, Botticelli, Donatello, Mantegna and Uccello, which forms the core of the collection. Almost as compelling as the splendid interior and art collection is the insight gleaned into an extraordinary marriage and grand nineteenth-century lifestyle, brought to life by the fascinating narration on the free audioguide (available in English). In Room 1, mostly eighteenth-century French paintings are displayed, including several portraits by Boucher, in addition to two lively paintings of Venice by Canaletto. Room 2, the reception area, has specially constructed folding doors which, when opened, transformed the space into a ballroom large enough to contain a thousand guests. Room 3 contains three huge tapestries depicting Russian scenes that capture the fashion for Slav exoticism of the mid-eighteenth century. Room 6, formerly the library, focuses on Dutch and Flemish paintings, including three by Van Dyck and two by Rembrandt – The Portrait of Dr A. Tholinx and an early work, The Pilgrims of Emmaus, showing remarkable use of chiaroscuro. Room 7 is the Salon de Musique (and the other half of the ballroom), whose dramatic high ceiling is decorated with a mural by Pierre Victor Galant; the musicians would play from the gallery, and you're treated to a mini-concert on the audioguide as you gaze at the ceiling. In Room 8, a huge, animated fresco by Tiepolo depicting the French king Henri III being received by Frederigo Contarini in Venice, graces the extraordinary marble, bronze and wrought-iron double spiral staircase that leads from an interior garden of palm trees up to the musician's gallery. Room 9, once the smoking room, where the men would retreat after dinner, is hung with the work of eighteenth-century English portraitists, among them a painting by Joshua Reynolds. Leading off the music gallery are the intimate rooms in which the couple displayed their early Renaissance Italian collection. The first was intended as Nélie's studio, but she instead decorated it as a sculpture gallery – including three bronzes by Donatello – its walls covered in low-relief sculpture. The dimly-lit Florentine room next door includes a wonderful, brightly coloured Saint George Slaying the Dragon (1440) by Paolo Uccello, a Botticelli Virgin and Child (1470) depicted with touching beauty and fragility, and an exquisite sixteenth-century inlaid choir stall. Adjacent is the Venetian room, with paintings by Bellini and Mantegna among others.
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