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The grand 18th century & a château where works by Watteau have emerged

One of the sites from which French taste spread throughout Europe: the Château de Condé
  • A façade that is both varied and sober 

 

 

  • Its interior is what counts

 

 

Concert hall by Servandoni, decorator of Saint-Sulpice, Paris's great 18th-century church
Salon by Oudry, painter of the royal hunt (that is, the greatest animal painter of his time)

 

 

  • A laundry-room becomes art history

 

 

With us

The Marquis let Watteau store paints and brushes in this laundry room. He used the walls to experiment, painting one figure over another. Museums would be delighted to have this notebook, but it is part of the walls.

 

 
  • Works by Watteau and his followers emerged one by one... 

 

 

By Lancret, Watteau disciple
By Watteau

...as restorers peeled away the coverings with which 19th-century owners concealed works they viewed as frivolous - or openly licentious.

 

 

  • A mystery hovers over the mantelpiece

 

 

The work as it was found
Postcard

Placed in the most prestigious part of a salon, its coded message is typical of the art that nobles commissioned for their châteaux. A "W" may be Watteau's signature....

 

 

 

 

  • We visited the château...

 

long before the châtelaine opened it to the public.

 

Isabel de Rochefort invites us for coffee in her private apartments and her son, Amaury de Rochefort, rather than the local guide, conducts our visits.

 

So this jewel of France's civilization can still be perceived in a personal way.

 

 

 

•Costs: Please CLICK

° There will be a charge for the visit

° Déjeuner: a picnic with regional specialities?

 

 

 

 

Credits: façade and works of art / château; other photos / Claude Abron
Isabel and Amaury de Rochefort