Tomorrow evening, the Jewish Museum of Art and History in Paris is inaugurating an exhibition about a prominent and relatively little-known Jewish family, that could have figured in Marcel Proust’s great opus: “In Search of Lost Time.”

Known as the Rothschilds of the East, the Jewish Sephardic Camondos first made their mark as bankers to the grand vizirs of the Ottoman Empire, under the enlightened patriarch Abraham-Salomon de Camondo (1781-1873). Heir of the bank Isaac Camondo et Cie, he not only consolidated the family fortunes, but also participated actively in the modernization of Constantinople and the economic development of the Empire. In short, the Camondos became the indispensable go-betweens of the Sublime Door and the West.  They were particularly remembered for their contributions to secular education in both French and Turkish as well as the Jewish community.

Abraham’s sons and grandsons don’t limit their allegiances to the Grand Vizir. In 1854 Abraham Salomon represents the Austro-Hungarian community of the Ottoman Empire at the marriage of Franz-Joseph of Austria.  In 1860, with the birth of his grandson Moses, he also founds the Universal Israelite Foundation in Paris. In 1865, seeing the decline of the Ottoman Empire and their own loss of stature, the Camondos give up their Austrian citizenship and take Italian nationality. The king of Italy, Victor-Emmanuel II rewards their support for his unification program by conferring the title of count on Abraham Salomon Camondo (a title that is transmitted through the male line).

In 1868, the Camondos transfer their holdings to Paris. Soon they are the bankers to the Empress Eugénie, supporting her Turkish investments, and participating in the financing of the Suez Canal. They already show a passion for collecting: Flemish painting, works from the Far East, even from the Barbizon School..Upon his death in 1873, Abraham Salomon is honored with a state funeral in Constantinople.

His two grandsons, Isaac and Moses de Camondo, are born into a world of immense wealth. In 1881, Isaac, who has a penchant for collecting 18th century antiques, makes his reputation as the greatest single patron in this field at the sale of the collection of Baron Leopold Double. By 1897, he is able to make his first substantial donation to the Louvre. In 1903, he made a second donation, that includes works by Manet, Monet, Degas, Cézanne and Renoir. His gift came with this stipulation: show these works in the museum even if the artists are still living. (Normally, the artist had to be dead at least 50 years). In 1914, the Camondo exhibition rooms were inaugurated by the Louvre.

That same year spelled the end of the Belle Epoque and the thundering of the guns of August. Three years later, the sole remaining heir to the Camondo banking fortune, Nissim de Camondo, was killed in aerial combat. Marcel Proust, who dined with the family and knew them socially, is remembered for his letter of condolence.

This tragic blow to his father Moses leads to the bank’s liquidation and absorption of BNP-Paribas. In 1935, the year of his death, Moses leaves his sumptuously furnished mansion at 63, rue de Monceau to the National Union of Decorative Arts, making it according to his last wishes, the Nissim de Camondo Museum, inaugurated in 1936 and still open for visits to the public.

Fortunately, Moses and Isaac, who had been the most munificent of art patrons, and co-founders of the Friends of the Louvre, did not live to see the final act of tragedy that befell the family.  Béatrice de Camondo and her husband Léon Reinach (whose uncle defended Captain Dreyfus) were not spared the indiscriminate horror that befell French Jews. Although divorced from her husband and a Catholic convert, Béatrice and her daughter Fanny are interned in Drancy in 1942. In 1943, her ex-husband Léon and son Bertrand, are arrested while trying to cross the border into Spain. Their fates were sealed: on November 17, 1943 Leon, Bertrand and Fanny left on convoy 62 to Auschwitz. On March 17, 1944, convoy 69 carried Béatrice Camondo, who died on January 4 1945, four months after Paris was liberated. While the Camondo collections were carefully preserved, the family that created them and left them to the French state was extinguished.

Today, sixty-five years after the D-Day Landings, the exhibition that traces the Camondo history from Constantinople to Auschwitz, is being supported by the Cityof Paris as well as the French government. Visitors like myself will discover their indelible impact on French art and culture as well as the development of Turkey. This is only a part of their story. The remainder is waiting to be told.

 

If you wish to learn more about touring this exhibition and other related sites to the Camondo saga, write to: contact@europeanjewishtours.com

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 10:36 am and is filed under History & Architecture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.