Lecture: The Making of the Great Museums of Paris—The Making & Remaking of the Nissim de Camondo Museum

Sophie Motsch will tell the story of the banker Moïse de Camondo and the hôtel particulier he built next to the Parc Monceau between 1911 and 1914 to display his collection of French decorative art from the second half of the 18th century. Upon the death of Moïse de Camondo in 1935, both the hôtel particulier and its collections were bequeathed to the Museum of Decorative Arts in honor of his son, Nissim de Camondo, who had been killed in action during World War I. The hôtel particulier opened as a house museum in 1936.

To register for the full series, please visit the lecture series announcement.

About the Lecturer

Sophie Motsch joined the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (MAD, Paris) in 1998 as an associate curator in western decorative arts from 1600 to 1800 plus Musée Nissim de Camondo. In 2006, she participated in the reinstallation of the 17th-18th galleries for the re-opening the MAD. In 2015, for her MA, Sophie’s focus has been on the Javal collection of 18th objets de vertu, beauty cases and necessaires an unpublished bequeath to the MAD. A specialist in the history of collecting, her research focuses on vanities, she has brought this expertise to bear on “Même pas peur ! Collection de la Baronne Henri de Rothschild” a collection of 180 memento mori which was held at Fondation Bemberg (Toulouse), the catalog became a rare book. Sophie co-curates  A Day in the Eighteenth Century: Chronicle of a Parisian Townhouse (Feb. 18th  to July 5th 2026), featuring more than 550 original objects, drawn from the Musée des Arts décoratifs’ collections and for most of them, rarely exhibited.

She holds a BA in English & Italian and Art History from Paris X University and her MA in Art History from Université Jules Verne (Amiens). She lectures and teaches regularly at the MAD, Ecole du Louvre, université de Marne-la-Vallée, Association d’étude pour la céramique and she recently sits on the advisory board of the Société de l’Histoire de l’Art français.

About the Moderator

Russell Kelley

Russell Kelley is Vice President of the Alliance Française Miami Metro and the curator of the last five winters’ Zoom series about the History and Heritage of France.