TheHôtel Lambert (French:[otɛllɑ̃bɛːʁ]) is anhôtel particulier, a grand mansiontownhouse, built between 1640 and 1644 on the Quai Anjou on the eastern tip of theÎle Saint-Louis, in the4th arrondissement of Paris. In the 19th century, the nameHôtel Lambert also came to designate a political faction of Polish exiles associated with PrinceAdam Jerzy Czartoryski, who had purchased the Hôtel Lambert.
The house, on an irregular site at the tip of the Île Saint-Louis in the heart of Paris, was designed byarchitectLouis Le Vau.[1] It was built between 1640 and 1644, originally for the financier Jean-Baptiste Lambert (d. 1644) and continued by his younger brother Nicolas Lambert, later president of theChambre des Comptes. For Nicolas Lambert, the interiors were decorated byCharles Le Brun,François Perrier, andEustache Le Sueur, producing one of the finest, most-innovative, and iconographically coherent examples of mid-17th-century domestic architecture and decorative painting in France.
The entrance gives onto the central square courtyard, around which thehôtel was built. A wing extends to the right at the rear, embracing a walled garden. At the same time, Louis Le Vau constructed a residence for himself adjacent to the Hôtel Lambert. He lived there between 1642 and 1650. It was where all of his children were born and his mother died. After the architect's own death in 1670, hishôtel was bought by the La Haye family, who owned the other residence as well. Both buildings were then joined and theirfaçades combined.
Both painters worked on the internal decoration for almost five years, producing the gallant allegories of Le Brun's grand Galerie d'Hercule (stillin situ, but heavily damaged in the 2013 fire described below) and the small Cabinet des Muses, with five canvases by Le Sueur that were purchased for the royal collection (now in theLouvre) and the earlier ensemble, the Cabinet de l'Amour, which in its original configuration featured an alcove for a canopied bed upon which the lady of the house would receive visitors, according to the custom of the day. Significantly the alcove was eliminated about 1703.[2] All the ensembles featured themes of love and marriage. However, the paintings have since been dispersed.[3]
In the 1740s, theMarquise du Châtelet andVoltaire, her lover, used the Hôtel Lambert as their Paris residence when not at her country estate inCirey. The marquise was famed for hersalon there. Later, the Marquis du Châtelet sold the Lambert to Claude Dupin and his wife Louise-Marie Dupin, who continued the tradition of thesalon. The Dupins were ancestors of writerGeorge Sand, who, because of her relationship with the Polish composerChopin, was also a frequent guest of the 19th-century Polish owners of the property.
In 1843, thehôtel particulier was bought by PrinceAdam Jerzy Czartoryski, member of the powerful family of Polishmagnates. He and his brother,Konstanty Adam, were leaders of the liberal aristocratic faction of theGreat Emigration from Poland, following the collapse of theNovember Uprising of 1830–1831. A political group formed around Adam Czartoryski, and his palatial residence in central Paris, surrounded by the natural 'moat' of theriver Seine, lent its name to his political faction.
The political beliefs of theHôtel Lambert faction were derived from the3 May Constitution, which its members had supported. The Hôtel Lambert played an important role in keeping the "Polish question" alive in European politics, by continually keeping the Polish cause on the agenda. It also served as a safe harbour for Polish emigés and royalists, exiled from their country after the unsuccessfuluprising against Russia. Among other notable politicians who took part in the Hôtel Lambert's activities wereWładysław Czartoryski, son of Adam,Józef Bem,Henryk Dembiński,Karol Kniaziewicz,Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz,Władysław Stanisław Zamoyski,Władysław Ostrowski andLeon Kaplinski.
Initially a political think tank and a discussion club, the political faction also worked on the preservation and promotion of Polish culture. AnHistorical and Literary Society began in 1832 and the idea of aPolish library, which exists to this day just along theQuai d'Orleans nearby, was conceived in the Hôtel Lambert in 1838. Plans laid for two schools teaching Polish (one for girls, one for boys) and were established inBatignolles. There was support for numerous commercial enterprises, especially in the fields of publication and printing. Over time, it became one of the most important hubs of Polish culture in the world, especially after theJanuary Uprising, when Polish language and culture became heavily persecuted during the enforcedRussification in theRussian Partition of Poland itself.
The Hôtel Lambert drew some renowned politicians and artists of the epoch, includingAlexandre Walewski,Charles Forbes René de Montalembert,Frédéric Chopin,Zygmunt Krasiński,Alphonse de Lamartine,George Sand,Honoré de Balzac,Hector Berlioz,Franz Liszt,Eugène Delacroix, andAdam Mickiewicz. In fact, Chopin's "La Polonaise" was composed expressly for the Polish ball held there every year.
The Hôtel Lambert was discreetly split into several luxurious apartments. It was once the home of actressMichèle Morgan,Mona von Bismarck, and ofAlexis von Rosenberg, Baron de Redé, who rented the ground floor from 1947 until his death.[n 1][4] De Redé entertained his lover Arturo Lopez-Willshaw (1900–1962), who continued to maintain a formal residence with wife Patricia inNeuilly. Redé and Lopez-Willshaw's dinner parties and balls were at the center ofle tout Paris. In 1969 de Redé staged his most famous ball, the Bal Oriental, with guests such asJacqueline de Ribes,Guy de Rothschild,Salvador Dalí,Brigitte Bardot,Dolores Guinness, andMargrethe II of Denmark.
In 1975, the Czartoryski heirs sold the Hôtel Lambert toBaron Guy de Rothschild, whose wife,Marie-Hélène de Rothschild, was a close friend of de Redé; they used it as their Paris residence.
In September 2007, the Hôtel Lambert was sold by the Rothschilds toPrinceAbdullah bin Khalifa al-Thani, brother of the Emir of Qatar for the purported sum of 80 million euros ($111 million). A UNESCO World Heritage-listed building, it was in need of restoration, as parts of its wooden structure were rotting, staircases were sagging, and paint was cracked and discoloured.
The Prince's plan for a comprehensive overhaul of the building sparked controversy and became the subject of legal action brought by French conservationists.[5] The scheme included plans to install air-conditioning,elevators, an underground car park with an exit through the notable curved garden wall, and a number of security measures. This involved digging under thegarden and raising the 17th-century garden wall 80 cm. One heritage architect claimed the plans had "the aesthetics of a James Bond villa".[6] Former tenant Michèle Morgan suggested that super-rich clients wanting a tailor-made luxury modern residence should consider a larger site on the outskirts of Paris rather than a cramped position limited on all sides by the riverSeine and listed monuments. However, Alain-Charles Perrot, thearchitect in charge of the project, suggested that there was an element of racism in the objections.[7][n 2]
After several years of wrangling, a truce was overseen by the Ministry of Culture and Paris City Hall, and the renovation was given the go-ahead under the supervision of Bâtiments de France, which safeguards historic monuments. Work began in 2010.[8]
On 10 July 2013 a portion of the building was severely damaged by a fire which started in the roof during renovation work.[9] The Cabinet des Bains with a series of ceiling frescoes by Eustache Le Sueur was completely destroyed, and another series of frescoes by Charles Le Brun in the Gallery of Hercules was heavily damaged by smoke and water.[10] The restoration and renovation took a further three years.
The restoration by Al Thani eventually cost €120m (£100m); the restored house showcasing a collection of French art and decorative works of the highest quality. These were sent to auction in a series of sales in 2022.[11]
In 2022, the house was sold to French telecom billionaire and art collectorXavier Niel for more than €200 million ($226 million) to be reportedly used as the headquarters for Niel's cultural foundation.[12]
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