Hôtel De Lauzun
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The Hôtel de Lauzun () is a 17th-century ''
hôtel particulier () is the French term for a grand urban mansion, comparable to a Townhouse (Great Britain), British townhouse. Whereas an ordinary (house) was built as part of a row, sharing party walls with the houses on either side and directly fronting on a ...
'', or private mansion, located on the of the
île Saint-Louis Île Saint-Louis (), in size, is one of two natural islands in the Seine river, in Paris, France (the other natural island is the Île de la Cité, where Notre-Dame de Paris is located). Île Saint-Louis is connected to the rest of Paris by fo ...
in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, France. It is among the few Parisian '' hôtels'' that retain their rich carved, painted, mirrored and gilded interiors from the time of
Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
.


History

The ''hôtel particulier'' was not built by the Duc de Lauzun whose name it bears, but by a wealthy financier, Charles Gruyn des Bordes, the son of an inn-keeper grown rich from his trade and richer still, according to at least one
pamphleteer A pamphleteer is a historical term used to describe someone who creates or distributes pamphlets, unbound (therefore inexpensive) booklets intended for wide circulation. Context Pamphlets were used to broadcast the writer's opinions: to articu ...
, through
speculation In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, good (economics), goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable in a brief amount of time. It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hope ...
enabled by his title as general commissioner of cavalry during the civil disorders of the
Fronde The Fronde () was a series of civil wars in the Kingdom of France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. The government of the young King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition ...
. Gruyn des Bordes purchased the lot in 1641, but by the time he was prepared to build, he had new neighbours in the ÃŽle Saint-Louis to emulate, namely, the
Hôtel Lambert The Hôtel Lambert () is an ''hôtel particulier,'' a grand mansion townhouse, built between 1640 and 1644 on the Quai Anjou on the eastern tip of the Île Saint-Louis, in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. In the 19th century, the name ''Hôtel La ...
de Thorigny. He married Geneviève de Moÿ by a contract signed on 26 April 1657, and she hastened the construction of the house, which was completed near the end of 1659. The architect was Charles Chamois. Gruyn's initial 'G' is interlaced with his wife's'M' on
chimneybreast A chimney breast is a portion of a chimney which projects forward from a wall to accommodate a fireplace. Typically on the ground floor of a structure, the masonry extends upwards, containing a flue which carries smoke out of the building through ...
s and throughout the decor. Gruyn, however, had
Nicolas Fouquet Nicolas Fouquet, marquis de Belle-Île, vicomte de Melun et Vaux (; 27 January 1615 – 23 March 1680) was the Superintendent of Finances in France from 1653 until 1661 under King Louis XIV. He had a glittering career, and acquired enormous weal ...
as a
patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...
and shared in Fouquet's disastrous fall. An inquiry into his financial dealings found him guilty of fraud; he was thrown into prison and died there. His widow, having kept her financial affairs separate from his, survived his ruin and left the hotel to her son. In the meantime,
Antoine Nompar de Caumont Antonin Nompar de Caumont, 1st Duke of Lauzun (, 163219 November 1723) was a French courtier and soldier. He was the only love interest of the "greatest heiress in Europe", Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier, cousin of Louis ...
, Duc de Lauzun, had fallen from
Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
's favour and spent a decade in prison. Once he clandestinely wed his lover, La
Grande Mademoiselle Grande means "large" or "great" in many of the Romance languages. It may also refer to: Places *Grande, Germany, a municipality in Germany * Grande Communications, a telecommunications firm based in Texas * Grande-Rivière (disambiguation) * Arr ...
, she ransomed him from the King and he immediately purchased the building from de Mony's son. Lauzun enriched many of the interiors. The Hôtel de Lauzun passed on to the great-niece of
Cardinal Mazarin Jules Mazarin (born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino or Mazarini; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), from 1641 known as Cardinal Mazarin, was an Italian Catholic prelate, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Lou ...
, who fled from the convent of
Chaillot Chaillot () is a quarter of Paris, France, located in the 16th arrondissement, on the Right Bank. It is adjacent to Passy to the southwest (administratively part of la Muette) and is bound by Avenue de la Grande-Armée to the north. It is home ...
with the Marquis de Richelieu and eloped with him to London. In 1709 the Marquis de Richelieu sold the house to Pierre-François Ogier, ' who further enriched its interiors. In the 18th century, the Hôtel de Lauzun retained its aristocratic owners (now the Marquis de Pimôdan) until the French Revolution. With that event, the estate, like many of its once-grand neighbours, had its upstairs chambers and attics divided into apartments and rented by successful
artisan An artisan (from , ) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, sculpture, clothing, food ite ...
s. In the 1840s, when the building (now known as Hôtel Pimodan) belonged to the
bibliophile A bookworm or bibliophile is an individual who loves and frequently reads or collects books. Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. Bibliophiles may have large, specialized book collections. They may highly value old editions, aut ...
and collector, baron
Jérôme Pichon Baron Jérome-Frédéric Pichon (3 December 1812 – 26 August 1896) was a 19th-century French bibliographer and bibliophile. He was one of the most important French art collectors of his time. Biography Jérôme Pichon was the second son of ...
, auditor for the
Conseil d'État In France, the (; Council of State) is a governmental body that acts both as legal adviser to the executive branch and as the supreme court for administrative justice, which is one of the two branches of the French judiciary system. Establ ...
, the upstairs apartments were rented to
Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics ...
(in 1843, for 350 francs) and
Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rema ...
. These two residents formed their Club des Hashischins, where they experimented with
hashish Hashish (; ), usually abbreviated as hash, is a Compression (physics), compressed form of resin (trichomes) derived from the cannabis flowers. European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, As a Psychoactive drug, psychoactive ...
. While residing there, Baudelaire wrote the first poems of ''
Les Fleurs du Mal ''Les Fleurs du mal'' (; ) is a volume of French poetry by Charles Baudelaire. ''Les Fleurs du mal'' includes nearly all Baudelaire's poetry, written from 1840 until his death in August 1867. First published in 1857, it was important in the ...
''. The Hôtel de Lauzun, protected as a
heritage site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...
in 1906 and owned by the City of Paris since 1928, since 2013 houses the Paris Institute for Advanced Study, a research institute in social science, which hosts symposiums or conferences in the building. The ''hôtel'' was featured in
Bruno Dumont Bruno Dumont (; born 14 March 1958) is a French film director and screenwriter. To date, he has directed twelve feature films, all of which border somewhere between realistic drama and the avant-garde. His films have won several awards at the C ...
's 2009 film ''
Hadewijch Hadewijch (), sometimes referred to as Hadewych or Hadewig (of Brabant or of Antwerp), was a 13th-century poet and mystic, probably living in the Duchy of Brabant. Most of her extant writings are in a Brabantian form of Middle Dutch. Her writ ...
'', and in
Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...
's '' The Ninth Gate'', as the apartment of Baroness Kessler.


Description

The building overlooks the
Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...
to the north of the island and does not fit the most traditional layout of an ''hôtel particulier'', which usually features a main building ''entre cour et jardin'', separated from the street on the front by a courtyard, and facing a private garden on the back. Fitting the exceptional location of the lot, facing the river, Charles Chamois chose to place the main building on the front, and to raise the ground floor to protect it and ensure an enjoyable view of the river.Gady 2008, . The high foundations serve as a service space. A richly ornamented
balcony A balcony (from , "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. They are commonly found on multi-level houses, apartme ...
extends the main room on the street facade. The courtyard forms the back of the ''hôtel'', which does not feature a garden. File:Île Saint-Louis @ Paris (25312631975).jpg, Main facade, on the street File:P1250991 Paris IV quai Anjou hotel de Lauzun cour rwk.jpg, Façade north of the courtyard File:P1250996 Paris IV quai Anjou hotel de Lauzun mur cour rwk.jpg, Blind east wall in the courtyard File:P1050910 Paris IV quai d'Anjou n°17 porte rwk.JPG, Main portal, with the name and completion date of the hôtel engraved above File:P1250994 Paris IV quai Anjou hotel Lauzun entree rwk.jpg, Detail of the north courtyard facade: lion sculptures supporting a small cabinet File:P1250988 Paris IV quai Anjou hotel de Lauzun porte rwk.jpg, Courtyard door File:P1250987 Paris IV quai Anjou hotel de Lauzun rwk.jpg, South courtyard facade File:P1250992 Paris IV quai Anjou hotel de Lauzun cadran solaire rwk.jpg, Sundial in the courtyard File:P1250990 Paris IV quai Anjou hotel de Lauzun porte detail rwk.jpg, Carved and gilded lantern on the street facade File:Hötel de Lauzun - gouttière 02.jpg, Carved and ornamented 17th century gutter The ''hôtel'' is renowned for its richly decorated interiors, which are among the only ones preserved from the 17th century in Paris. Typical of interiors from the early reign of
Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
, it features heavily gilded wall sculptures, and paintings by
Michel Dorigny Michel Dorigny (1616 – 20 February 1665) was a French painter and engraver. Biography Dorigny was born in Saint-Quentin. According to the Netherlands Institute for Art History he was a pupil of Georges Lallemand and Simon Vouet.
. The main room, or ''grande chambre'', was converted in 1907 into a music salon, topped by a
rostrum Rostrum may refer to: * Any kind of a platform for a speaker: **dais **pulpit ** podium * Rostrum (anatomy), a beak, or anatomical structure resembling a beak, as in the mouthparts of many sucking insects * Rostrum (ship), a form of bow on naval ...
.


In Popular Culture

The Hôtel de Lauzun is the Paris home of Jack Rackham and Ann Bonny, aka the Marquis and the Marquise De Belleville, in the fictional pirate romance novels of Alexander De Chastelaine: The Legend of Jack & Ann (2021) and Jack & Ann - In the Service of His Majesty (2023) .


Notes


Bibliography

* Boulhares, Raymond and Soleranski, Marc (2015). ''L'hôtel de Lauzun : trésor de l'île Saint-Louis''. Paris: Artélia. . * Gady, Alexandre (2008). ''Les hôtels particuliers de Paris, du Moyen-Âge à la Belle époque''. Paris: Parigramme. .


External links


Hôtel de Lauzun
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hotel De Lauzun Lauzun, Hotel de Buildings and structures completed in 1657 1657 establishments in France