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Key figures

Origin and history

The Cognacq-Jay Museum is a municipal museum in the City of Paris, born from the legacy of Ernest Cognacq, founder of the Grands Magasins de la Samaritaine with his wife Marie-Louise Jaÿ. When Cognacq died in 1928, he left to the city a collection of 18th-century art and a building boulevard des Capucines to house him. The museum opened in 1929, before being transferred in 1990 to the Donon Hotel, a fully restored Marais mansion.

The Donon Hotel, built in the late 16th century, is an example of French Renaissance architecture, with a roof evoking a ship's hull. Acquired by the City of Paris in 1974, it is restored to accommodate Cognacq-Jay collections, which include paintings, sculptures, porcelains and 18th-century art objects. The museum recreates intimate atmospheres, with woodwork and period furniture, reflecting the bourgeois taste of the early twentieth century for the art of the Enlightenment.

The collection, gathered between 1895 and 1925, includes major works by Chardin, Boucher, Fragonard, Tiepolo, and pastels by La Tour. It is complemented by temporary exhibitions exploring themes related to the 18th century or its legacy. In 2024, the museum was the victim of a robbery of five tabs, found the following year. Managed by Paris Museums since 2013, it remains a unique testimony of the art of living in the Enlightenment century, seen through the prism of a 20th century collector.

The Donon Hotel, classified as a Historic Monument, has a rich history: built for Médéric de Donon, controller of the King's Buildings, it passes into the hands of several families before being acquired by the City of Paris. Its restoration has given life to an exceptional architectural heritage, while offering an appropriate setting for the museum's collections.

Temporary exhibitions, such as Le siècle de Watteau (2008) or Luxe de poche (2024), as well as interventions by contemporary artists (such as Christian Lacroix in 2015), enrich programming. The museum highlights the lasting influence of the 18th century on the arts and society, while preserving the intimate and eclectic spirit of the original collection.

Collection

Le musée rassemble des collections de peintures de Nicolas de Largillierre, Jean Siméon Chardin, Rembrandt (Balaam et son ânesse, 1626), Ruisdael, Canaletto, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (Le banquet de Cléopâtre, vers 1742-1743), Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, Jean-Baptiste Greuze, François Boucher, des pastels de Maurice Quentin de La Tour et de très beaux dessins de Watteau...

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