Hôtel Mezzara, a Parisian building in the Art Nouveau style, was constructed by architect Hector Guimard in 1910-1911 for industrialist Paul Mezzara. In preparation for the upcoming exhibition of modern decorative arts, which was postponed until 1925, Mezzara commissioned Guimard to build the mansion. The interior was decorated by various Belle Époque artists including Léon Jallot, Edgar Brandt, and Paul Follot.
In 1930, the hotel was sold to the Lacascade sisters, who transformed it into a private school. In 1956, they ceded it to the National Education, where it became an annex of the lycée d'État Jean-Zay. After the building was declared unnecessary for public service in 2015, it was put up for sale. The state offered it for a 50-year lease in 2021, but following further calls for tenders, a new deal was reached in 2023.
In June 2025, the state announced the decision to turn the site into the Musée Guimard. Fabien Choné and the Cercle Guimard won the tender for a fifty-year lease. The museum, scheduled to open in 2027 or 2028, will house works from private collections and loans from French and American museums. The building is representative of Guimard's style around 1910, featuring supple structures and organicist moldings.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nicolo Ciampini
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