The Fondation Pro mahJ

The aim of the Fondation Pro mahJ is to support the museum’s activities, particularly its exhibition and publishing programmes and the enrichment of the collection.

photo © mahJ / Christophe Fouin

The Fondation pour le musée d’art et d’histoire du Judaïsme was created in 2003 on the initiative of Claire Maratier, daughter of the painter Michel Kikoïne (1892-1968). The foundation’s aim is to support the museum’s activities, particularly its exhibition and publishing programmes and the enrichment of its collections.

The foundation promotes the work of artists from the Paris School and has a collection of exceptional works illustrating the heritage of Jewish cultures in Europe and around the Mediterranean rim.

Every two years, it awards the Prix Maratier to an artist, whose work is then exhibited at the mahJ.

As a state-approved non-profit organisation, the foundation is authorised to receive donations and bequests in lieu of inheritance taxes.
It organises donation campaigns to support the museum’s projects, thereby actively and uniquely contributing with the mahJ to the promotion of Jewish culture in France.

As a non-profit organisation it enables donors to benefit from tax deductions, notably income tax and wealth tax paid in France . The foundation regularly invites its donors to high-profile events at the museum.

Its current board members are Dominique Schnapper (chairman of the mahJ), Rémy Schwarz (general secretary of the mahJ), Adrien Cipel (treasurer of the mahJ), Patrick Audebert (representing the Interior Ministry), David Zivie (representing the Culture Ministry), Christophe Girard (representing the City of Paris), and five personalities: Jacqueline Frydman (director of the Passage de Retz), Denis Olivennes (chairman of the supervisory board of CMI France), Perrine Simon-Nahum (historian, CNRS), Olivier Schiller (chairman of Septodont), Gérard Unger (CEO of Mediatransports).

The Prix Maratier

Claire Maratier created the Prix Maratier, awarded every two years, in memory of her husband Amédée Maratier, with whom she shared her passion for contemporary art. It was awarded in 2005 to Pierrette Bloch, in 2007 to Iris Sara Schiller, in 2009 to Mikael Levin, in 2011 to Cécile Reims, in 2013 to Nira Pereg and in 2015 to Moshe Ninio.

Claire Maratier

Claire Maratier (1915-2013), daughter of the painter Michel Kikoïne and one of the mahJ’s dearest friends, supported the museum with great generosity and determination from its creation. She contributed to the acquisition of the first work to enter the museum’s own collection, a very rare 19th-century booth for the feast of Tabernacles (Sukkah).

Sukkah : inside the sukkah, William Kentridge Silhouettes of cut-out cardboard presented on 5 october 2019 during the parisian Nuit Blanche event.

She also donated her collection of works by artists of the School of Paris, including Kikoïne (the museum now has a major collection), Soutine, Krémègne, Hayden, Pascin and Marcoussis.

Michel Kikoïne, Le Petit Pont de Perrigny, 1930, mahJ, don de Claire Maratier

Claire Maratier gradually lost her eyesight but continued to visit exhibitions and artists’ studios, sensing rather than seeing, touching works and giving advice with an apparent detachment barely concealing her strong personal convictions. Shortly before she died, the mahJ was able to film her reminiscing about her childhood at La Ruche and her experiences during the Second World War (in French).