Hotel Blumenthal-Montmorency, Paris

The principal elevation of the mansion known as the
hotel Blumenthal-Montmorency.
Image:  private collection.

The previous post of The Devoted Classicist was a presentation of the last Paris apartment of the late Beatriz Patino, a pied-a-terre overlooking Parc Monceau.  Mention was made of the previous residences that she and her husband Antenor, the oldest son of the Bolivian "Tin King," shared in Paris.  Their previous mansion on the rue d'Andigné became the Iraqi Embassy.  The hotel particuleur on the stylish avenue Foch is believed to now be residence of the ambassador to France from the United Arab Emirates (according to Parisian public records).


The hotel Blumenthal-Montmorency
at 34 avenue Foch, Paris.
Image:  Wikipedia.

A few years ago, the house, also known as Palais Montmorency, was offered for sale by Christie's International Realty for Euro 100 million (about U.S.$136 million).  The listing has since been removed from the Christie's site, but it had been mentioned on most of the real estate blogs as the second most expensive residential property in the world for sale at the time.  Some photos can still be seen on the blog, Homes of the Rich. 


The secondary elevation of the hotel Blumenthal-Montmorency
along rue Le Sueur.
Image:  private collection.

There were only a few photos still available to view despite the highly publicized real estate offering.  But a great cache of images came just minutes after an inquiry to one of my Devoted Readers, T.B., and I am happy to share these now.


The Ground Floor Plan
of the hotel Blumenthal-Montmorency.
Image:  private collection.

Completed in 1900 to plans by architect Henri Paul Nénot, these early twentieth-century houses are not as appreciated today as their surviving eighteenth-century counterparts.  But there is a lot to be said of these scholarly Louis XVI Revival residences.  (See the earlier post on the Camondo, now a decorative arts museum).  Although over one hundred years old, there is still a validity in the formal reception spaces for functions today, and the classical proportions of the architecture and logical layout of the floor plans make such a house suitable for adaptation for modern use.


The convenient porte-cochere is
labeled descente a couvert on the plan.
Image:  Christie's International Realty.

The architect Nénot worked for various architects in Paris including Charles Garnier before opening his own practice.  Although he is best known for his design for the new Sorbonne, he was also the architect of a number of well-regarded public buildings and residences.


The ground floor Vestibule of the former home of
Beatriz and Antenor Patino, hotel Blumenthal-Montmorency.
Image:  private collection.

The concept behind avenue Foch was conceived by Baron Haussmann during the reign of Emperor Napoleon III to connect Place de l'Étoile (the junction of avenues in star form at the Arc de Triomphe now called the Place Charles de Gaulle) with the Bois de Boulogne, a new public park.  Jean-Charles Alphand enlarged upon the original design to make the avenue 120 meters wide, the widest in Paris.  Lined with chestnut trees and flanked with sidewalks and horse paths, there were ornamental lawns and flower beds, creating an extension of the Bois de Boulogne which Alphand also designed, along with Parc Monceau and the other Napoleon III parks.


The plan of the principal floor,
known as the first floor in France.
Image:  private collection.

When it opened in 1854, it was named avenue de l'Impératrice after Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III.  After the reign ended, the name changed in 1870 to avenue du Général-Uhrich and in 1875, to avenue du Bois de Boulogne.  In 1929, the name was changed again to avenue Foch, after the Marechal Ferdinand Foch, a World War I hero who died that year.  During the Nazi Occupation, the Gestapo and the counter-intelligence branch of the SS commandeered some of the mansions for office use.  But the name avenue Foch in the twentieth-century was generally synonymous with great wealth style, and culture.


The Stair Hall of the hotel Blumenthal-Montmorency.
Image:  private collection.

Ferdinand Blumenthal was the first owner of the house with his wife Cecilia, of the socially prominent New York City Ulman family.  Blumenthal had come to the U.S. from his native Frankfurt-am-Main around 1875 to establish a New York City office of his family business, F. Blumenthal & Co., leather merchants.  He retired early and maintained his home at 19 Spruce Street in NYC as well as his showplace at 34 avenue du Bois de Boulogne. 


The Gallery of the hotel Blumenthal-Montmorency.
Image: private collection.

Famous as a collector of art and antiques, the Paris mansion was filled with paintings of the Barbizon School, including a number by Carot.  Blumenthal was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor for his contributions to French art.  He died in 1914 aboard a steamship from Naples to New York City, leaving Cecilia a widow at age 51. 


One of several salons at the hotel Blumenthal-Montmorency.
Image:  private collection.

Three years after her husband's death, Cecilia Blumenthal married Louis, 2nd Duc de Montmorency, aged 48.  The wagging tongues of Paris then referred to her as the "Duchess of Montmorenthal."  Today, three Corots and one Delacroix from the Blumenthal collection are now in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.


The ceiling of the Dining Room of the hotel Blumenthal-Montmorency
was reputedly painted by Henri Rousseau.
Image:  Christie's International Realty.

Beatriz and Antenor Patino were great collectors of art and antiques as well, with this hotel particuleur undoubtedly being a splendid base in Paris for their opulent lifestyle.  The Patinos were often referred to as major donors to the restoration of the Palace of Versailles.  A 1986 article in the New York Times at the time of Mme Patino's selling a number antiques in preparation for the move to the relatively small apartment presented in the previous post stated, "A room at Versailles is furnished with seven of their finest pieces - a pair of armchairs, a pair of corner cabinets, a commode, a chaise and an armoire."


The Second Floor Plan of the
hotel Blumenthal-Montmorency.
Image: private collection.

The Third Floor of the
hotel Blumenthal-Montmorency.
Image: private collection.

Thanks again to T.B. for the rare, vintage images of hotel Blumenthal-Montmorency.