Musée Cognacq-Jay
The Musée Cognacq-Jay is Paris' best (and admission-free) private gallery of 18th century painting
Back in the early 1900s, the couple who founded the grand La Samartaine department store—Ernest Cognac and Marie-Louise Jay—amassed a magnificent collection of 18th-century art, which they generously left to the city.
Now it's housed in one of the chichi mansions in the Marais district, preserved in all its 18th-century glory.
Fair warning: this is only for folks who don't get mental cavities from playful, pastel paintings and fussy objets d'art by the likes of Watteau, Fragonard, Boudin, and Chardin.
Then again, even if that stuff bores you to tears, since it's free, why not pop in at least to get a quick sense of the prevailing tastes and lifestyles of the rich and French and famous in the 1700s? (No wonder the peasants revolted.)
Tips
- Planning your time: Budget about 45-60 minutes to peruse the collections.
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This article was last updated in March 2012. All information was accurate at the time.
Copyright © 1998–2012 by Reid Bramblett. All rights reserved.
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8 rue Elzévir (between rue des Francs Bourgeois and rue du Parc Royal)
Marias (3eme)
Tel. +33-(0)1-40-27-07-21
www.cognacq-jay.paris.fr
OPEN
Tues-Sun 10am–6pm
ADMISSION
Free
TRANSPORT
Métro: Saint-Paul (1), Chemin-vert (8), Rambutau (11)
