Private Museum - Cognacq-Jay 1-6-26

There was still snow on the ground in places this morning, I don’t think we had even 5 centimeters. But unlike Denver when it melts here things stay wet, so we were alternating slushy patches with damp patches all the way down to Gare de l’Est. It was our intention to take a bus down to Chatelet and then walk over to a restaurant we have been frequenting since 1984. The brasserie restaurant, Le Trumilou, was first suggested to us by our French teacher, Odile Trufanov. She told us that it was one of the most authentic old school brasseries in Paris. The cuisine is from the Auvergne region and is hardy. We go back every chance we get, especially if we’re in the arrondisement. It sits directly across the street from the Seine in a cluster of old storefronts very near the Hotel de Ville. And right around the corner from it is an old Parisian street that has 

at least one of the oldest buildings in Paris, dating from the 12th century. In the past there used to be a communal table running the length of the main dining area. During busy periods you would sit at the table across from your companion and right next to whomever happened to be seated there. Conversations would be quite convivial. I passed one evening there sitting next to two French nurses and we had a lovely conversation in French all through dinner. That is until I mixed up a word and instead of saying they were courteous I said they were pretty. Oops! They froze up until I figured out my mistake and corrected it, but they were wary after that. Today it was just Deb and me at an individual table. We stuck to the menu of the daily special. So Deb had a broccoli soup followed by duck Magret, while I had a “roasted” Camembert followed by the duck Magret. Deb accidentally ordered hers more rare than she wished while I found my order to be less pink than I desired, so we switched and it worked perfectly. For dessert we shared a chocolate mousse with a raspberry center and fresh raspberries on the side.  With the sun shining in the front windows it was difficult to vacate the place but we did want to see the elusive Musee Cognacq-Jay. 

So we took a 15 minute walk back into the city’s old quarter and located the museum.  It’s very near the Picasso Museum and the Musee de Carnavalet. Carnavalet is dedicated to the history of Paris and is fantastic in its own right. Picasso needs no additional comment.  Cognacq-Jay is another home of a wealthy 19th century Parisian business man and his wife. He was the founder of the Samaritaine department store. It’s located in a 16th century townhouse in the Marais district and was built and owned by the Controller-General of the Royal Estates. It was purchased by the city for Cognacq’s   his museum and art collection. He was a pretty practical man and concentrated on collecting 18th paintings and sculpture. He limited himself to smaller works that could be displayed in the more modestly proportioned rooms of 

the townhouse. He also collected furniture and paneled rooms from buildings that were being demolished and had them installed. His collection leans heavily towards portraits and scenes from such artists as Boucher, Fragonard, and Greuze. But he also had a room of paintings by Guardi and Canaletto, mostly small pictures that would have been souvenirs like postcards. Sort of like C.P. Adams little watercolors of the Estes Park area, only these were of Venice. A lot classier you may say, but you get the idea. For the most part the paintings were a bit too much saccharine for us, but they were nice. The sculptures were also mostly busts and were very appealing. There are works by Houdon, and Carpeau among others. I loved a bust of Maurice de Saxe, a brilliant military leader of the 18ty century and another bust of Madame Le Recamier. There was a temporary exhibit by artist Agnes Thurnauer which featured historical women artists and thinkers. There were works by Ms. Thurnauer in conversation with historical works of art.

Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun was represented as were Madame DeStael, and the Marquise du Chatelet, who translated and critiqued the first French translation of Isaac Newton’s Principia Mathmatica.  The museum is quite small and we were able to make our visit an enjoyable one without feeling overwhelmed, in a fairly short amount of time.  We then had a walk through the old section of Paris to a bus stop which would get us back to Gare de l’Est. From there we had a walk again through patches of slushy ice and wet pavement back to the apartment.  

Because our time is starting to run short we’ll start buying groceries more frequently in smaller quantities. Towards that end we stopped in our cheese shop and bought a couple slices of our favorite cheeses for breakfast. Tomorrow we have more tickets and reserved times for the Orangerie. So that should be an enjoyable little excursion.