A not-so-private nightly view

Call me spoilt but having been invited to a private evening viewing of the Musée Jacquemart André I did not expect to walk into a reception of 300 people. The average age, I might add, was, over 65.

Never the one to have my fun spoilt, I decided to make the most of it, by taking some fun pictures. I started moving around the luxurious mansion while the sponsoring host was trying to sell his goods before opening the museum to the crowd.

The small intimate museum was created from the private home of Édouard André (1833–1894) and Nélie Jacquemart (1841-1912) to display the art they collected during their lives. I quickly got ahead to glimpse at the winter garden and headed upstairs through the Sculpture Gallery housing collections of 15th- and 16th-century Italian sculpture, the Venetian Gallery attesting to the Andrés' love of 15th-century Venetian artists and the Florentine Gallery which is a place of worship, containing works on religious themes.

Gliding back down the most fantastic is a staircase of this beautiful place I could imagine how the wealthy of Paris lived in pre-automobile days. On my way out, running down the marble stairs and through the gothic pillars onto the graveled courtyard, I felt like Cinderella. However, there was no prince following me just a huge crowd trying to make their way through the stately rooms without breaking any of the exposed objects.

I have yet to try the sumptuously decorated restaurant within the building, therefore, dear Musée Jacquemart-André I will be back soon to discover your marvels at daylight with the insight of one of my favourite guides, Cerise from Paris Walks.