château de pierrefonds EN_v2.indd

Visit
Viollet-le-Duc
Information
History
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Visit
Viollet-le-Duc
Information
History
Visit
Viollet-le-Duc
▲
Information
▲
History
Visit
Viollet-le-Duc
Information
▲
English
Glossary
Art nouveau: the name given to the style of plastic
art developed between 1885 and 1914, inspired
by nature and advocating a new aesthetic that
contrasted 19th century styles which drew on
those of previous centuries.
Machicolation: an overhanging construction at
the top of a fortification with openings beneath
for watching the enemy or launching objects.
Mercenary: a soldier employed by the lord to
defend his possessions.
Worthy, Worthies: created in the Middle Ages,
this theme takes inspiration from powerful figures
of the Old Testament, Antiquity and the Middle Ages
to glorify the chivalrous ideal.
Practical information
Average length of visit: 1 hour.
Guided tours available.
Visits adapted to disabled visitors.
Gift and book shop
The guide for this monument can be found
in the Itinéraires collection in the gift and book shop.
Centre des monuments nationaux
Château de Pierrefonds
60350 Pierrefonds
tél. 03 44 42 72 72
fax 03 44 42 36 59
crédit photo © 4 vents / Centre des monuments nationaux. réalisation graphique beau fixe. traduction ADT International. impression Stipa, Imprim’Vert®, septembre 2015.
History
In the cellars, the “bal de gisants” exhibition
displays castings of funerary sculptures commissioned
by King Louis Philippe to pay tribute to the great
figures that brought glory to France. Originally
displayed at the Palace of Versailles, this collection
is today kept at Pierrefonds.
15 The guard or mercenary room*, a large
hall located under the Worthies room, displays
fragments of statues found during excavations before
renovation work began.
The fireplace was designed by Viollet-le-Duc.
16 The castle model, in stone and weighing 4,500 kg,
was created for the Exposition Universelle of 1878
in Paris under the guidance of Lucjan Wyganowski,
inspector of the castle works, in order to show
the general public the scale and importance of
the reconstruction project.
17 The park
Located on the edge of the Compiègne forest,
the Château de Pierrefonds was built on the site
of an ancient manor in a steep, wooded, walled park
overlooking the town. Its high walls enabled the
castle to defend itself at the end of the 16th century
from artillery whose range was still limited.
Using this principle and by creating a double
wall walk connecting the towers, Viollet-le-Duc
remodelled the park, integrating it into the
educational dimension of the castle’s defence system.
www.monuments-nationaux.fr
*Explanations overleaf.
Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc
French theorist and architect
(Paris 1814 – Lausanne 1879)
Viollet-le-Duc was passionate about Medieval
architecture, visiting Italy in 1836 and travelling
across France with his friend Prosper Mérimée,
who was then an inspector of historic monuments.
Mérimée entrusted him with the restoration of the
Vézelay Basilica in 1839. He directed the restoration
of important religious and civic buildings from
the Middle Ages, including the churches of SaintGermain-des-Prés and Saint-Séverin, the Cathedral
of Notre-Dame in Paris, Mont Saint-Michel, the Cité
de Carcassonne, and the castles of Roquetaillade,
Montépiloy, Coucy and Pierrefonds...
His rationalist ideas on Gothic architecture and his
deductions led him sometimes to take initiatives such
as the removal or addition of elements according
to the era considered the most distinctive. These
were very often the subject of lively debate. For his
construction projects, he continued to use medieval
and classic style formulas and would often use
floral décor, foreshadowing Art Nouveau*patterns.
A superb illustrator and water colourist, with
an interest in many different disciplines, he was
a bold theorist. He extolled the use of materials
and shapes adapted to their function and the use
of metal structures, influencing the public’s
perception of history of French historic heritage.
Viollet-le-Duc authored many works, including the
Dictionary of French Architecture from the 11th to 16th
Century and Entretiens sur l’Architecture, which would
heavily influence architects of generations to come.
*Explanations overleaf.
château
de Pierrefonds
The Middle Ages according
to Eugène Viollet-le-Duc
The castle is built
Duke Louis of Orléans (1372-1407), whilst battling
with the Duke of Burgundy for royal power, built
a fortress at Pierrefonds in 1397. He thus confirmed
his power and took control of trade between Flanders
and Burgundy.
The castle disappears
In 1617, the castle was dismantled under the order
of King Louis XIII so that it couldn’t be used by
his enemies. The towers were ripped open. This ruin
soon became forgotten until it was bought in 1810
by Napoleon I, garnering Romantic interest in its
appearance in the 19th century.
The castle is reinvented
Aerial view
of the castle
In 1857, the Emperor Napoleon III (1808-1873) wanted
to turn Pierrefonds into an imperial residence.
This project was never
completed and the castle
became a museum and
was opened to the public
in 1867. Eugène Violletle-Duc (1814-1879),
the architect entrusted with its restoration, employed
architectural concepts to recreate a perfect castle as
that which would have existed in the Middle Ages. After
his death, his son-in-law Mauric Ouradou continued
the work until 1884, without ever completing it.
History
Visit
Viollet-le-Duc
Information
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10
A
16
15
1
entrance
8
14
11
9
12
13
7
3
6
4
5
B
2
A reception
B toilets
2
Ground floor
The front façade
The castle, located in a park modelled with the
characteristics of a defensive system, includes eight
towers adorned with the statues of worthy*knights
bearing the names:
- David, Judas Maccabeus and Joshua, biblical
warrior kings,
- Caesar, Alexander the Great and Hector, kings
of great empires and heroes of Antiquity,
- Charlemagne, King Arthur and Godfrey of Bouillon,
Christian heroes of the Middle Ages.
The courtyard: a lesson
in architecture
Bringing together a variety of styles inspired by
the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the courtyard
is very different from the outer façades of the castle.
It offers a view of the main body of the castle: the great
staterooms to the left, the officers’ wing in front, the
chapel to the right, and the square tower and the keep.
1 The portico, which is a sort of external corridor,
runs the length of the main body of the building.
Its keystones depict various trades and chimeras.
The last three capitals illustrate The Roman de Renart.
First floor
2 The chapel, rebuilt in its original location, saw
Viollet-le-Duc build a gallery that allows passage
above the choir on exceptional occasions. On the
gate’s central pillar, Viollet-le-Duc is depicted in
pilgrim’s clothing, accompanied by Louis of Orléans
and his wife Valentine Visconti of Milan.
3 The equestrian statue of Louis I of Orléans
was created in 1869 by sculptor Emmanuel Frémiet.
The keep
Traditionally it was the location of the noble living
quarters and served as the last retreat in the event
of a siege. Based on the designs of Viollet-le-Duc, the
walls have been decorated with great care and detail.
4 The reception room houses Hungarian oak
woodwork sculpted with fantastical animals and
murals of animals symbolizing royal and imperial
power. The style of the friezes inspired by plant
patterns foreshadow the styles of Art Nouveau*
some 30 years in advance. The fireplace bears
the arms of the Dukes of Orléans. The seat with
the reversible back was designed by Viollet-le-Duc.
5 The temporary exhibitions hall.
The fireplace displays a frieze with the interwoven
initials of Napoleon III and his wife Eugénie de Montijo.
6 The study is decorated with symbols of the Empire,
paying tribute to Napoleon I (a bee), Napoleon III
and his wife (an eagle). The woodwork is decorated
with a frieze combining fantastical animals and
plants. A bust of Viollet-le-Duc sits on the desk.
The presence of flushing toilets pays demonstrates
the modernity of this 19th century castle.
7 The master bedroom is located in the Julius
Caesar tower. Due to the way the restoration
project progressed, this bedroom has never been
used: the castle became a Medieval museum before
ever becoming an imperial residence. Viollet-le-Duc
drew on medieval iconography for the décor of the
frieze painted at the top of the walls which recounts
the life of a knight in the 14th century.
The decoration on the mantelpiece depicts various
hunting.
The staterooms
and the cabinet d’armes
8 The side arms room is an antechamber in which
Napoleon III displayed the side arms in his personal
collection on wooden blazons.
9 The Worthies room, on the site of the grand hall
where the lord would dispense justice, was recreated
by Viollet-le-Duc, who took inspiration from the
Château de Coucy in Aisne.
With rich décor, it is equipped with a metal-framed
vault, evidence that the architect had no qualms
about using contemporary materials.
The mantelpiece depicts the Nine Worthies*:
the central figure, Semiramis, Queen of Babylon,
displays the traits of Empress Eugénie, and the
others those of her ladies-in-waiting.
Visitors used to come here to admire the collection
of Napoleon III’s armours before they were
transferred to the Army Museum at Les Invalides
in Paris after the fall of the Empire in 1870.
The imperial eagle takes centre stage above the
statues of Charlemagne and his four comrades: the
bishop Turpin, Roland, Olivier and William of Orange.
An evocation of medieval defensive
architecture
10 The Alexander tower enables its 14th-century
stone base to be seen, and its ruined upper section
rebuilt with hewn stone in the 19th century. One of
the castle’s four dungeons is found beneath the tower.
11 The wall walk is covered with a roof.
The towers, rebuilt with traditional masonry, provide
the castle with an incredible defence system: double
coping of the ramparts and towers, with a two-level,
double wall-walk, partly in the thickness of the wall
and partially overhanging with machicolation*.
The windows look out over an incredible view of the
town and its church, the Sabatier house, the Château
de Jonval, the old baths, old train station and the lake.
12 The barrack rooms would have been for soldiers
on guard duty. They are among the oldest parts of
the castle.
13 The double spiral staircase, inspired by
Renaissance models, makes it possible to go up
and down the stairs without crossing other people
on the stairwell.
14 The cellars, the walls of which date back to the 14th
century, can be accessed via a double staircase. The
vaults were rebuilt in the 19th century.
Two large stoves installed by Viollet-le-Duc provided
“central heating” for the apartment rooms.
*Explanations overleaf.