The Rotonde Balzac was built around 1890 at the end of the private garden of the Hotel
Salomon de Rothschild with architectural elements from the former private mansion of
Balzac\u2019s son in law. In this Chinese-style interior adorned with embroidered wood paneling,
the Baroness of Rothschild had gathered a collepaction of artworks evocative of the great
French writer.\u00a0
Honor\u00e9 de Balzac left his mansion in Passy in 1846 and bought the former \u201cappartement des
bains\u201d of the Folie Beaujon built between 1782 and 1783, the former holiday mansion of
businessman Nicolas Beaujon. Balzac\u2019s new wife, Eveline Hanska, moved with him on May
21, 1850. But a few months later, on August 18, Balzac died in the bedroom of his mansion
rue Fortun\u00e9e, since then renamed rue Balzac.\u00a0
Balzac\u2019s widow continued to occupy the mansion along with her daughter and stepson, Count
Georges Mniszech. In 1872, the latter acquired the adjoining parcel, which included the Folie
Beaujon chapel. Its nave was demolished to make way for a renovation project conducted by
architect Eugene Monnier. When Count Mniszech died in 1881, only one neo-classical
pavilion and a rotunda had been built at the corner of rue Balzac and rue Berryer.\u00a0
Severely indebted, Countess Hanska sold the mansion with usufruct to Adele de Rothschild
on January 19, 1882, and died a couple of months later. In November 1882, the Baroness of
Rothschild also acquired the pavilion and rotunda built for Georges Mniszech. Balzac\u2019s damaged mansion and the chapel choir were demolished, but the columns and entablature of
the apse were kept in the garden as artificial ruins.\u00a0
In 1891, the Baroness of Rothschild refurbished Georges Mniszech\u2019s former rotunda and
leveled off the first floor. She renovated part of the original Chinese-style wood paneling and
completed it with copies, adorning the wood panels with 19th-century silk-embroidered
Japanese drapes.\u00a0 \u00a0
Inside the rotunda, the Baroness of Rothschild displayed relics of the writer\u2019s life, such as two
marquetry doors from the late 18th century that used to adorn the living room of Balzac\u2019s
mansion on the first floor. Other works were displayed on console tables and cases like the
bust of Balzac by Anatole Marquet de Vasselot, as well as small copies of famous bronze
sculptures from the Old Regime after Edme Bouchardon, Fran\u00e7ois Duquesnoy, Gaspard
Marsy, and Fran\u00e7ois Girardon.\u00a0\u00a0
In her will from 1908, Adele de Rothschild requested that the French state keep \u201cthe Balzac
pavilion and its content\u201d untouched.\u00a0
Since its restoration in 2020, the Rotonde Balzac has been accessible to the public as part of
the tours organized in the Cabinet of curiosity and the gardens of the Hotel Salomon de
Rothschild, for which prior booking is mandatory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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