The Mara is rich in palaces, each of which can tell you quite a few spicy stories (take for example the Hotel Rouen Soubise או Hotel de Soleil)Hôtel Salé, which we will talk about today, is no different from other palaces, except Carnival, its present is no less interesting than its past.
The history of Hotel Sala
Where the palace now stands, there was once a tennis court and then the Marais Theatre where Corneille staged Le Cid, causing neighbours to complain that the many carriages belonging to the performers were causing huge traffic jams. The Hôtel Salé was built by Aubert de Fontenay (1584-1668), tax collector for Louis XIII and Louis XIV, who became rich from the salt tax. The name of the palace is based on a play on words. On the one hand, the word Salé means “salty”, after the source of the money for the palace, and on the other hand, the word can also be interpreted as “expensive” because of the considerable amount of money invested in it.
Aubert, who was the prototype of the nouveau riche (he began his career as a servant), decided to pry the eyes of his neighbors. The ornate facade, the staircase decorated with Corinthian columns, the stone medallions and eagle statues, all this and more were created to dazzle his guests and display his wealth. Since he owed his rise in the social ladder to his wealthy wife, he immortalized her memory in the iron railings, which include the letters A in honor of his name (Auber) and C in honor of his wife (Mademoiselle de Chastelin). It should be noted that his wealthy wife not only helped him advance in French society but also grew horns for him and started stormy novels with quite a few amplifiers. Paris of her time.
Aubert de Fontenay was unable to maintain his wealth for long. Like many others, he lost everything with the fall of Nicolas Fouquet, the Minister of Finance of Louis XIVAnd so, like Moses, who failed to reach the Promised Land, Aubert died before the palace was completed. Incidentally, other nouveau riche, or, as the French called them, Parvenu (one who comes soon), were much more successful than that unfortunate tax collector and entered French folklore thanks to the plays of Molière (also in the nobility) or the saying of La Bruyere's sharpener "There are people who go to bed as commoners and wake up as nobles). Some of the nouveau riche even managed to marry into the old aristocratic families of France, who needed money and thus to upgrade their social status. Madame de Sevigne, whose grandmother was the daughter of a tax collector, said, “Every now and then you have to manure the land.”
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Hotel Sala becomes Picasso museum
But let's get back to the palace. After the fall of Auvers de Fontenay, the palace became the residence of the Venetian embassy. About a century later, the palace was purchased by the Archbishop of Paris, who decided that the statues in the courtyard were not modest enough and ordered their private parts to be covered. The palace was badly damaged during French Revolution and faced demolition. It was saved, like many palaces in the Marais, thanks to a law by the French Minister of Education, Andre Malreaux, who ordered the palace to be renovated. In 1973, after Picasso's death, his heirs were "persuaded" to donate a large part of his works to the city of Paris in order to avoid a huge estate tax, which they could not pay. This collection of about 5000 items became the foundation of the museum and over the years another 1000 items were added that were purchased by the museum.
After about thirty years of operation, the museum was closed for renovations, which were accompanied by a scandal that led to the dismissal of the museum director, and cost the French taxpayer about 52 million euros. The museum reopened in September 2014 and can be found there works by Renoir, Cezanne, Matisse, Rousseau, Braque and of course Picasso. Even if you do not like modern painting, it is still recommended to visit the place and be impressed by the beauty of the palace, especially if you bought the Museum card, which makes admission free.
Information about the Picasso Museum
Address: 5 Rue de Thorigny
Metro:Saint-Sébastien-Froissart, Filles du Calvaire
Museum type: Payment
Links: Buying a ticket | Museum website
Opening days and hours: Tuesday through Friday the museum is open from 1030-1800 and on Saturday and Sunday the museum is open from 0930-1800. Closed on Monday.
Want to get to know Picasso's Paris?
Why don't you try the The itinerary followed Most of which takes place in the Montmartre district.