The House of Fragile Things: A History of Jewish Art Collectors in France, 1870 - 1945

by James McAuley

A powerful history of Jewish art collectors in France, and how an embrace of art and beauty was met with hatred and destruction In the dramatic years between 1870 and the end of World War II, a number of prominent French Jews--pillars of an embattled community--invested their fortunes in France's cultural artifacts, sacrificed their sons to the country's army, and were ultimately rewarded by seeing their collections plundered and their families deported to Nazi concentration camps. In this rich, evocative account, James McAuley explores the central role that art and material culture played in the assimilation and identity of French Jews in the fin-de-si�cle. Weaving together narratives of various figures, some familiar from the works of Marcel Proust and the diaries of Jules and Edmond Goncourt--the Camondos, the Rothschilds, the Ephrussis, the Cahens d'Anvers--McAuley shows how Jewish art collectors contended with a powerful strain of anti-Semitism: they were often accused of invading France's cultural patrimony. The collections these families left behind--many ultimately donated to the French state--were their response, tragic attempts to celebrate a nation that later betrayed them.

Genres: History, Art, Nonfiction, France, Biography, World War II, Jewish

288 pages, Hardcover

First published March 23, 2020

Reviews

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a truly fascinating and meticulously researched account of the great Jewish families of France between about 1870 until the end of WWII and their art collecting. The Camondos, the Rothschilds, the Ephrussi and others were all enormously wealthy and dedicated to collecting priceless treasures from France’s past to not only decorate and furnish their homes but to bequeath them to the nation after their deaths. They all felt themselves to be assimilated into French society but the truth was very different. A deep vein of anti-Semitism pervaded French society and this meant they were never truly accepted as equals. They wanted to contribute to France’s cultural patrimony but as I read on through this book I began to realise just why this was never going to be possible. And this was the aspect of the story that horrified and shocked me the most. I hadn’t realised just how virulent anti-Semitism was in France and just how vile cultural critic Edouard Drumont’s views were, even though we know how complicit many French were in the Holocaust. Before Hitler, Drumont was the most virulent anti-Semite in Europe and his views were tragically very influential. I hadn’t heard the term “aesthetic anti-Semitism” before but he attacked all the families portrayed in this book, by name, and was the most vocal proponent of the idea that Jews could never have an appreciation of art and that therefore their valuable collections were somehow bogus. The book is multi-layered, exploring not only the families’ lives and destinies, but also exploring the very concept of collecting, the psychology of it and what it meant in particular to this group of people. We as readers know how it is all going to end but they didn’t, and as such the poignancy of their lives affected me deeply. The collections they made seemed to them to be contributing to French culture but the country they cared about betrayed them. Many excellent images are included to enhance the text and I only wish there had been more of them. All in all, a powerful and important work of scholarship and cultural history.

[Luc De Coster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moïse de Camondo (1860-1935), handelaar en zakenman, en Irène Cahen d’Anvers (1872-1963) hadden twee kinderen: Nissim & Beatrice. Irène verlaat het gezin als de kinderen nog jong zijn. Nissim sneuvelt in de eerste Wereldoorlog als piloot van een verkenningsvliegtuig van het Franse leger. Moïse verzamelt kunst en interieurstukken uit het ancien regime en brengt alles onder in een verbouwde villa aan het Parc Monceau in Parijs, een wijk waar de Joodse elite een beetje samentroept al sinds de 19e eeuw. Het gebouw zelf is een hommage aan het Trianon in het koninklijk park van Versailles. Franser dan Frans allemaal. In de jaren twintig schenkt hij huis en verzameling aan de Franse staat en wordt het als herinnering aan zijn zoon het Musée Nissim de Camondo, wat het vandaag nog steeds is. Beatrice de Camondo zal, zoals haar man en twee kinderen, de tweede wereldoorlog niet overleven en sterft in Auschwitz. Frankrijk en zeker het Vichy-régime werkten vlot mee aan de deportaties.

Irène Cahen d’Anvers werd als kind in opdracht geschilderd door Renoir. De Nazi’s zullen het schilderij aanslaan en wegbrengen naar Duitsland.

Dit is het soort verhalen die Mc Auley brengt en die hij heeft bijeengesprokkeld uit bewaarde brieven, fotoalbums en getuigenissen.

Mc Auley vertelt de persoonlijke geschiedenis van een aantal leden van vier Joods-Franse families (Reinach, Cahen d’Anvers, de Camondo en de Franse Rothshields) tijdens de derde Republiek (1870-1940) en tijdens de bezetting en het Vichy-regime (1940-1945). Het gaat hier om mensen met veel kapitaal die vooraanstaande rollen speelden in de Franse maatschappij en tot de hogere kringen behoorden. Hoe zij hun Jood-zijn combineerden met het Frans staatsburgerschap en participatie in het sociaal-cultureel leven in Frankrijk is een centraal thema van “The house of fragile things”.
Dat was geen sinecure. Antisemitisme moest in Frankrijk in de eerste helft van de twintigste eeuw niet helemaal onderdoen voor de Duitse versie ervan. De Dreyfus affaire, die Frankrijk verdeelde tijdens de laatste jaren van de negentiende eeuw (de onterechte veroordeling wegens militaire spionage van de Joodse officier), was al een uiting van de latente Jodenhaat. Het is tegen die achtergrond van echte financiële schandalen, culturele minachting (bijvoorbeeld door de gebroeders Goncourt, Renoir, Daudet, …) en raciale vooroordelen dat deze leden van vooraanstaande Joodse families hun identiteit (én Frans én Joods) en bestaan een vaste en permanente vorm willen geven. Dat doen ze door kunst en ambacht uit het Ancien Régime te verzamelen, door klassieke villa’s te bouwen, bibliotheken aan te leggen, landgoeden en prestigieuze stadspanden aan te kopen en te vernieuwen.

Rijke of machtige mensen mogen wel eens graag iets nalaten voor de geschiedenis, iets markeren in het landschap waar ze doorliepen. Franse Presidenten zijn daar soms wel mee bezig (Pompidou, Mitterrand). Zo bevatte de nalatenschap van deze puissant rijke Joodse families kunstverzamelingen, interieurs en architectuur, terwijl ze zelf in de nevelen van twee wereldoorlogen en hun nasleep verdwenen.

Mc Auley duidt de activiteit van verzamelen ook psychologisch. Het creëren van die rijkelijke verzamelingen van stukken Frankrijk was tegelijk het tastbare bewijs van hun hoogstaande deelname aan de seculiere Republiek en een privéruimte waar ze zich konden terugtrekken als de buitenwereld weer eens te boos was op het Jodendom. Het verzamelen als uitoefening van controle.
Het boek brengt grote en kleine geschiedenis door mekaar: de Franse Joden in kwestie zijn de representanten van een bevolkingsgroep in Frankrijk die een min of meer gelijk tragisch lot ondergingen. Het brengt de geschiedenis van de Joodse bovenlaag in Frankrijk die in theorie sinds de Franse Revolutie gewone citoyens waren zoals alle Fransen maar in de culturele praktijk toch steeds “de andere” bleven, hoe groot ook hun maatschappelijke bijdrage. Tegelijk krijgen we via briefwisselingen en getuigenissen ook de kleine geschiedenissen van vaders en moeders, broers en zussen. Met veel emotie en melancholie over vervlogen dingen.

Veel historische research, gecombineerd met mooie verhaalopbouw en een mooie taal en als toemaatje wat kunstgeschiedenis. Zeker een boek dat ook romanlezers kan bekoren.

[Laura Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

'In the end, this was a rarefied elite that collected beautiful things while the world collapsed around them.'

'it turned out that he was nostalgic only for the eighteenth century, a world he had never seen. The world he had seen, the storied past of the Camondo, he could do without.'

In #TheHouseofFragileThings McAuley discusses the life and collections of a number of the wealthy and prominent Jewish families living in France in the late 19th Century up until the Second World War, drawing on the psychology of collecting within the context of this uncertain period and their Jewishness.

I love the history of consumer culture and was pleased to find that McAuley is not limiting in his analyses of these collectors and their differing psychologies of collecting, instead being a great proponent of the idea that these individuals were not homogenous. He examines collecting as identity construction; performance of gender identity/roles; as demonstration of the compatibility of Jewishness and Frenchness; as a means to retain a sense of control; and as emotional comfort or personal salvation. His argument around the distinct nature of a French 'material antisemitism' was also particularly interesting.

The passion McAuley has dedicated to his research and ambition of writing a social history of the people rather than an account of just their objects and death is evident in the prominence he gives to their correspondence and personal but very unifying agonies. Obviously, set against the backdrop of two world wars and the Holocaust, this is a very painful but impassioned read at times, with a Father's endeavour to attain his son's remains, or Beatrice Camondo's near vanishing from the history of her own collection.

As with a lot of non-fiction I found that certain chapters / subject matter appealed to me more than others and it did take me a little while to sink into the structure where we jump backwards and forwards in time quite a bit as we look at each family case study. Certain sections did feel a little overlong and repetitive but McAuley makes up for this with the truly gut-punching or beautiful moments. I had expected a bit more detail on the specific items within the collections (and would have enjoyed more images), but as mentioned earlier I do appreciate the ambition to prioritise the people over the objects. It is perhaps a good idea to keep this in mind before picking this up - this is not a story about Nazis stealing art and persecuting these Jewish families, but more a story of the personal courage and meaning held in their collections.

[laladebombay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happy Publication Day!

I'm not an art collector myself, I wasn't born into such privilege and I haven't acquired that status yet. But I am a collector, if at all that counts, of things that are of a certain value to my family history - most of which is lost because I lost my guardians early on.

The House Of Fragile Things made me feel a lot of emotions at once. This is quite unlike anything I have read about the holocaust before, it makes you question even the tiny aspects of the families' decisions. The book is commendably researched and has this slow burning effect, something you would wanna pick up when you want to escape but not without pain.

The anti-semitism of the last 19th century and almost all of the 20th century is evident, even in the world of art. I try my best to empathise with those of Jewish heritage and I assure you, this book makes it 10x easier to do that because you realise the hopeless cruelty of the world, some governments like an overgrown bullying-child sacrificing lives and feelings and art at whim.

The documents attached give the book's authenticity a firm footing, sometimes heartbreakingly so. As a lover of history I am thrilled beyond measure to have read this.

Thank you Yale University Press and James McAuley for a copy of the book, I'm honoured.

[CJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

If (like me) you are not an academic, a book about Jewish art collectors in France can seem at first glance like quite a niche subject. However, this book is very engaging and as soon as I started reading it I was immediately engrossed in the world of France's upper-class Jews during the fin de siecle and the ways they asserted their right to belong through the world of art. Like many books about European Jewish history, this book was beautiful and haunting. As modern readers it's easy to project the specter of the Holocaust backwards onto everything, but this book is assertive in reminding us that the horrors of WWII were not inevitable and that French Jews of the 20th and 21st century were not stupid or naive. It's also a reminder that the things that we so often think will protect us -- wealth, social standing, etc. -- won't always deliver and that people are often bad at recognizing when they are in true danger. This book is a thorough and sensitive portrait of people from a lost world, and I am grateful for the chance to learn about their lives.

[Rebecca Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A doctoral dissertation that is not for the casual reader. A lot of information but when the author could not find as much information as he needed he filled in with names of artists and writers and peripheral people. I did get some information but it was quite a slog through the extras.

[Madeeha Maqbool · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Blurbed by Edmund de Waal and expanding on areas that he’s written about himself so it was bound to be good. It’s written really well too and is very thorough.

[Hermien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative and well researched.

[Nick Bouler · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read this in a book club for museum docents. The story was new to me, not, of course, in the facts of deportation of Jews from France in WWII, but in its portrayal of how central the Jewish contribution to the French nation had been up to that time, in finance, development, and politics. Well-written and balanced, if such a thing is even relevant, in that there is no attempt to depict the families as saints and various financial scandals are fully discussed. And the discussion of how the Dreyfuss affair provided the basis of much of what happened in WWII France is illuminating and chilling.

[Janet L · Rating 4 out of 5]

After Hare with Amber Eyes and Letters to Camondo, this is an even deeper-dive into the elite community of Jewish art collectors in fin-de-siecle France. Five families who spent their time and their wealth collecting - for some French decorative arts, for others French painting, for others architecturally important French homes -- all with the same goal in mind -- to firmly demonstrate that they were fully French in thought and in deed and particularly in patriotism and in national identity -- as authentically French as anyone. And this was not form, over substance and in many respects they were not at all naive. Being Jewish (even for those who converted) was fully consistent and compatible with the French history of equality and universalism and with the then fashion of restoring French pride and elements of beauty after France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. But antisemitic forces in France thwarted their way. The Dreyfus Affair brought antisemitism to the surface and major art critics saw these collectors as illegitimate owners who were desecrating decorative items that should only belong in truly French hands. And despite their service and contribution to their country, WWII firmly classified all of them as Jews to be exterminated. And in France post war to today, they have been largely written out of the narrative. Interestingly the collections of these families remain largely intact -- because in the late 1920's/early 1930's they had been lovingly and faithfully given to France

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

McAuley traces three prominent Jewish families living in Paris around the turn of the twentieth century. They had become wealthy but were never accepted as true French citizens, in an era of widespread antisemitism. They became collectors of French art and artifacts and believed they demonstrated their love of country by preserving national treasures. Nevertheless they were seen as "foreign" and their cultural taste was disparaged by critics of the time. The families often intermarried, but the next generation, especially the females, tended to eschew their Jewish heritage and identity. Many of the treasures and mansions acquired by the families were ultimately left to the French government, some as fully stocked museums. Sadly, despite major efforts to prove their patriotic loyalty, the families disintegrated, with several members meeting their end in Nazi prison camps. It is an interesting focus on Jewish art collectors in a defined time period. There was not as much attention to the actual collections as on the social impact of the times on the families. The "Fragile Things" of the title turn out to be the families themselves.

[Rachel Saper · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure audiobook was the best format for this book.

The good: I did find the subject matter interesting and the book seemed to be incredibly well researched. Also, I loved the epilogue/ the author's statement for how he became interested/ why he chose this field.It put the entire book into focus. I wish more of that had been in the introduction.

The problematic (for me) I was confused by the leaps in time and trying to keep all the relations together in my head. That is more my problem than a problem with the book. Also, I think the novel has photographs in it of the art described and that would have been beneficial. I did try to look them up, but the titles of the pieces weren't said frequently and I often missed it. (again more my issue/audiobook issue)

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exhaustively researched (this book began as a doctoral dissertation), informative, and ultimately heartbreaking account of France’s leading Jewish families, their collections, the antisemitism they faced, and the ultimate crumbling of life as they knew it. I already knew much about these families, about Jews in France (I’m a frequent visitor), and about the Holocaust (I’m a Jewish American baby boomer born not long after the end of World War II, whose father helped liberate a concentration camp, and who grew up among many survivors), but this book both expanded my knowledge and broke my heart.

[Jill Shaw Ruddock · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic academically written book that is the perfect follow on to Edmund de Waahl’s Letters to Camando. It is dense;filled with tremendous information that fills in the gaps of the Camandos, the Reinachs, Cahen d ‘Anvers, and the Efrussis…. Surrounded by the back drop of the Dreyfus affair, the Panama affair and the Alfassa affair and the deep seeded antisenticism that ultimately destroyed these families who were obsessed with beauty , objects and an image of France that turned out to be an illusion.

[Mark Hussey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite the stylist that DeWaal is, but McAuley's story of these 3 vanished Jewish families is chilling, especially at a time when antisemitism is flourishing in so many places (particularly on the right in the USA). Extraordinary archival research presented with a deft touch and a fine eye for details that make these figures live.

[Randall Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be mildly interesting, but too "dry" and academically written for my tastes. The whole book was written with little emotion or insight, but just the facts and long descriptions of houses, rooms, objects, family relations, etc. To me the book read more like a doctoral dissertation than a history book. As a result, the people being described in the story never really came alive for me, and therefore I never really got absorbed into the story. What drew me to the book originally was my expectation that this would provide a different perspective on the experience of the Jews, especially the wealthy ones, in France. By focusing only on a handful of very wealthy persons, it felt to me like the author couldn't effectively draw any broad or general conclusions about antisemitism or the experience of being a Jew in France during this time period. I also felt like the author didn't connect the story of these wealthy art collectors to other important aspects of the Jewish experience - like the Dreyfus Affair, which is mentioned periodically, but about which the author never goes into any great detail. So overall, I felt like this book didn't reach the full potential of the story the author was trying to tell, and I can't say I'd recommend this book, unless you're really drawn to this period of history as well as this subject.

[Annamaria · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give 10 stars, I would. I am deeply grateful to the author James McAuley for opening up a world to me—the world of prominent Jewish art collectors such as the Camondo, Reinach, Rothschild, and Cahen d’Anvers families. These individuals dedicated their wealth and collections to becoming part of France’s artistic heritage. It’s no coincidence that the author named his book „The House of Fragile Things“.

McAuley vividly captures the universe of the Jewish Parisian elite, reminiscent of the world depicted in Marcel Proust’s „In Search of Lost Time“.Despite the pervasive and horrific anti-Semitism in France, these Jewish collectors created something extraordinary in a hostile environment, marked by events like the Dreyfus Affair and personal attacks from figures like Édouard Drumont.

As I began reading this book, my family and I visited the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild on the French Riviera in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. I felt incredibly grateful to already know the history behind this place and to see it in person.

What moved me most profoundly was the story of Renoir’s portrait of Irène Cahen d’Anvers. How much history, tragedy, love, and death can a single painting embody? The portrait encapsulates an entire family’s journey, intertwined with the broader currents of history.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to everyone. It’s an unforgettable read.

[Sarah Bodaly · Rating 2 out of 5]

The milieu of Jewish art collectors in France set the scene for a spate of Nazi acquisitions that followed in the line of Nazi atrocities, to bolster the German bank. This book follows the lives of several notable French Jewish families and their milieu, as they rose to social prominence and increased their fortunes, did all the aristocratic things such as marriage and divorce and dalliances among their milieu, and collected art and great riches. And then the Nazis and their milieu stole the art, and the Jewish survivors and their milieu fought to get it back, on principle’s sake, even though they didn’t much care for or want to talk to the people and their milieu whose portraits they finally recovered. Oh. And the milieu. Something about them. The author really, really liked his new-found word and used it far more than reasonable use within the pages of this book. I should have kept count.

[David Toms · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent piece of writing based on some astonishing archive digging that helps conjure up a world that was indeed a very fragile one, despite its seeming strength in its particular moment. The book looks at the fate of both the collections and the people behind some of France's most sumptuous private art collections of the fin de siècle. It is also of course about the fact that even when they themselves felt and thought themselves most French, these Jewish families were rapidly disabused of their own sense of self as events completely overtook before finally destroying them. Not always an easy read, but a fascinating one.

[Allyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a devastating read and in the beginning it felt so familiar and a lifting of information in The Hare with Amber Eyes. But after finishing it, I wonder if somehow Edmund de Waal lifted James McAuley's dissertation information to write his incredibly moving book.
Either way both books are moving and poignant in their portrayals of people hated for being Jewish, as if that was all that defined them.
This is a lovely little book with it's photos even in the paperback version nicely reproduced throughout.

[Caroline Igra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A revelatory exploration of the Jewish elite in France from the time of the Dreyfus Affair through WWII. McAuley offers a colorful narrative that makes the most illustrious art collectors, the Comondos, the Rothschilds, and the Ephrussis, come alive, highlighting the limits of what seemed like thorough assimilation. The experience of these families during a period when Jews were continually targets of persecution, despite their passion, fidelity, and continuous gifts to their native France, adds another important aspect to our knowledge of Modern French history.

[Veronique · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really tough book to get through… but absolutely worth the time and effort.
You will be rewarded by an understanding of the history of Jews in France, covering the time of the French Revolution to the present day.
Fascinating, enlightening and so sad…. I am really happy that I persevered!

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't finish b/c it got a little in the weeds for me about art and architecture. But it's another angle on how people who are othered in their home countries keep trying to establish themselves as full citizens. Military service, government service, intellectual leadership, and here art collections. Especially art of the ancien regime.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 because I never finished, but it's not exactly a page turner. BUT it's fascinating. I love historical views from a really narrow, interpersonal lens - and that's exactly what this gives. A deep account of antisemitism in France as told through some of its wealthiest Jewish families. Beautiful, fascinating, and the kind of story that easily gets lost in history

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The start of this book felt very much like an academic thesis and I didn’t find it that easy to engage with at first. But once the author left the thesis behind this proved to be a very moving account of a world destroyed and utterly betrayed by the evil events of the 20th century.

[Nancy Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Touching and poignant story of Jewish collectors in France during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The author shows how they were affected by antisemitism in France. This is a well written scholarly book and well sourced.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a chilling, haunting, necessary and informative narrative about French Jews, art, and the Holocaust. You won’t be able to think of Paris the same after this—and that’s a good thing.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good study of a segment of Jewish French collectors. A few historically wrong dates but overall a good snapshot of a forgotten and sadly gone group.

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well researched but a very tedious read.

[Cari]

Hard to rate this book. At times it felt more like a reference book or thesis with all the footnotes and detail. Powerful, moving and informative but often preachy. Uneven.