Who was Count Moïse de Camondo?
Moïse was born in 1860, the son of the Nissim de Camondo who moved the family from Constantinople to Paris in 1869. The family bank had been the leading private bank of the Ottoman Empire, and the title of count had come from the King of Italy in 1867; the family page has that background. He grew up at 63 rue de Monceau, in the first house on the plot, and inherited it when his father died in 1889.
He married Irène Cahen d’Anvers in 1891. The marriage ended in divorce; there were two children, Nissim, born in 1892, and Béatrice, born in 1894. His cousin Isaac, in the house next door at no. 61, collected Impressionists and left them to the Louvre. Moïse collected in the opposite direction: the furniture, porcelain, silver, tapestries and paintings of the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI.
The collector
What distinguishes him from other rich men who bought the 18th century is that he bought it to live in. The house René Sergent built for him between 1911 and 1914 was modelled on the Petit Trianon and planned around the collection, room by room: the Savonnerie carpets woven for the Louvre in 1678, the Sèvres “Buffon” service, the Orloff silver made for Catherine II, furniture by Oeben, Riesener, Carlin and Jacob. And behind all of it, central heating, lifts and a professional kitchen, because he intended to be comfortable. The rooms are described on the what to see page.
After 1917
His son Nissim was killed as a pilot on 5 September 1917. Moïse lived another eighteen years in the house and, as far as anyone can tell, stopped thinking of it as a home to be passed on and started thinking of it as a monument to be preserved. His will of 1935 gave the house and everything in it to Les Arts Décoratifs, to be opened as the Musée Nissim de Camondo and kept as he had left it. He died that year. The museum opened in December 1936 and has followed the instruction since; the current restoration is the first time the rooms have been emptied.
The Musée des Arts Décoratifs on rue de Rivoli belongs to the institution Moïse chose as his heir, and its 18th-century rooms are open now. It is the nearest thing to seeing what he saw until the house reopens.
Frequently asked questions
When did Moïse de Camondo die?
In 1935, aged about 75. His will left the house at 63 rue de Monceau and its collection to Les Arts Décoratifs, and the museum opened in December 1936; the history page follows the bequest.
Was Moïse de Camondo related to Isaac de Camondo?
They were cousins. Isaac, son of Abraham-Behor, lived next door at no. 61 and collected Impressionists, now mostly at Orsay. Moïse collected the French 18th century. Both branches are on the family page.
What did Moïse de Camondo collect?
French decorative art of the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI: furniture by Oeben, Riesener, Carlin and Jacob, the Sèvres “Buffon” service, the Orloff silver, Aubusson and Beauvais tapestries, Savonnerie carpets. The what to see page places them room by room.