Necker, Suzanne Curchod (Mme Jacques Necker) (1737-1794)

Necker, Suzanne Curchod (Mme Jacques Necker) (1737-1794)

Bizet

1750-1800

Suzanne Curchod Necker (1737-1794) was married to Jacques Necker, finance minister of France under King Louis XVI. She was an accomplished writer who hosted one of the most celebrated salons in Paris, where luminaries gathered to discuss art, literature, and politics. In 1778, seeking to ease the suffering of overcrowded hospitals, she remodeled a monastery and established a neighborhood charity hospital, with the aim of providing every patient their own bed.

Today that hospital continues as the Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital, a teaching hospital in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, affiliated with the University of Paris Descartes.

3.25" x 5"

Porcelain & cast brass

Gift of Samuel J. Dornsife.

General Collection, Museum Collection, The Athenaeum of Philadelphia

1974.02.01

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