Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme (mahJ) is housed in the hotel of Saint-Aignan, a 17th century mansion located in the Marais (Paris 3e). This building, built in 1644-1650 by architect Pierre Le Muet for Claude de Mesmes, Count of Avaux, was modernized in 1688 by Paul de Beauvilliers, Duke of Saint-Aignan, with the addition of a French garden designed by André Le Nôtre. Seized during the Revolution, the hotel became an artisanal building before being restored in the 1990s to house the museum, inaugurated in 1998.

The mahJ is partly inherited from the Musée d'Art Juif de Paris (founded in 1948 by survivors of the Shoah) and from historical collections such as Isaac Strauss, offered in 1890 at the Musée de Cluny. His collections cover the Middle Ages in the 21st century, with ritual objects, manuscripts, works by the École de Paris (Chagall, Soutine, Modigliani) and archives on the Dreyfus case (3,000 documents donated by his family). The museum journey articulates chronology, geography and themes to illustrate the diversity of the Jewish communities of Europe and the Maghreb.

The Hotel de Saint-Aignan, classified as a historical monument in 1963, is a masterpiece of classical French architecture. Its honorary courtyard, colossal pilaster facades and honour staircase reflect the aristocratic fascist of the Great Century. After centuries of transformation (upgradations in the 19th century, artisanal occupations), its restoration gave life to its original decorations, like the frescoes attributed to Rémy Vuibert. The museum now deploys 12,000 objects, including medieval funeral steles discovered in 1849 rue Pierre-Sarrazin, major archaeological testimonies of the Jewish presence in Paris before the expulsions of 1306 and 1394.

The permanent collections explore themes such as religious life (Shabbat, Hanukca, Pessa A room is dedicated to the Dreyfus case, with a modern Tim statue and trial sketches. The mahJ also houses a media library, an auditorium, and contemporary works such as the installation of Christian Boltanski paying tribute to Jewish artisans deported in 1942.

The museum highlights the Jewish contribution to French art and culture, notably through the École de Paris and artists such as Chagall or Modigliani. Its funds also document the Jewish cultural renaissance in Europe at the beginning of the twentieth century, Zionism, and the life of the disappeared communities of Eastern Europe. An ethnographic approach completes this panorama, with objects from the Maghreb, the Ottoman Empire and the Middle East, illustrating the diversity of Jewish traditions in the diaspora.

Since its opening, the mahJ has enriched its collections through targeted acquisitions (Maghrébin art, contemporary photography) and deposits of institutions such as the Louvre or the Musée d'Orsay. It plays a key role in preserving Jewish memory, while opening up to universal issues such as exile, integration and cultural transmission. Its logo, redesigned in 2016 by the Doc Levin workshop, symbolizes this dual mission: historical anchor and contemporary dynamism.

Collection

Le musée présente une collection d'objets de culte parmi les plus importantes au monde, ainsi que de riches fonds historiques et ethnographiques. Le MAHJ conserve ainsi 2 700 documents sur l'affaire Dreyfus, donnés par la famille du capitaine Dreyfus.

Une place importante est consacrée à la présence juive dans les arts avec des peintres de l'École de Paris (Chagall, Kikoïne, Soutine...) et des artistes contemporains (Christian Boltanski, Sophie Calle...).

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