Hôtel Crozat

The Hôtel Crozat is recognizable by the heavy, elaborate stone carvings framing its main entrance on the Rue de Richelieu. Pierre Crozat, a financier with a massive collection of paintings, built this townhouse in the early eighteenth century to house his treasures. When he died, the estate held over four hundred paintings and nineteen thousand drawings, turning the residence into a private gallery for the era's elite. Even today, the building carries the mark of a man who owned more art than most museums.