Charles de Noailles
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Charles de Noailles (26 September 1891 in Paris – 28 April 1981), Arthur Anne Marie Charles, Vicomte de Noailles, was a French nobleman and patron of the arts.


Biography

Charles was born in Paris on 26 September 1891, the son of
François Joseph Eugène Napoléon de Noailles François Joseph Eugène Napoléon de Noailles (25 December 1866 in Paris – 8 May 1900 in Paris) 10th Prince de Poix, was a French nobleman. Son of Antonin-Just-Léon-Marie de Noailles (1841–1909), Duke de Mouchy, and Princess Anne Murat (1 ...
and Madeleine Marie Isabelle Dubois de Courval. He married Marie-Laure Bischoffsheim on 9 February 1923 and the couple moved into 11
Place des États-Unis The Place des États-Unis (; "United States Square") is a public space in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France, about 500 m south of the Place de l'Étoile and the Arc de Triomphe. It consists of a plaza, approximately long and wide, tre ...
in Paris. Charles' mother gave them a plot in
Hyères Hyères (), Provençal Occitan: ''Ieras'' in classical norm, or ''Iero'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. The old town lies from the sea clustered around t ...
, for which first
Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd ...
and then
Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...
was asked to design a house. Ultimately, they asked
Robert Mallet-Stevens Robert Mallet-Stevens (March 24, 1886 – February 8, 1945) was an influential French architect and designer. Early life Mallet-Stevens was born in Paris in a house called Maison-Laffitte (designed by François Mansart in the 17th century). H ...
, who would design
Villa Noailles Villa Noailles () is an early modernist house, built by architect Robert Mallet-Stevens for art patrons Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles, between 1923 and 1927. It is located in the hills above Hyères, in the Var, southeastern France. His ...
. Their first daughter, Laure, was born on 8 September 1924. In December 1925, their house in Hyères was finished, and Charles and Marie-Laure would continue to expand
Villa Noailles Villa Noailles () is an early modernist house, built by architect Robert Mallet-Stevens for art patrons Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles, between 1923 and 1927. It is located in the hills above Hyères, in the Var, southeastern France. His ...
over the years. Natalie, their second daughter, was born 28 December 1925. According to the memoirs of
Alexis de Redé Alexis may refer to: People Mononym * Alexis (poet) ( – ), a Greek comic poet * Alexis (sculptor), an ancient Greek artist who lived around the 3rd or 4th century BC * Alexis (singer) (born 1968), German pop singer * Alexis (comics) (1946–19 ...
(1922–2004), Marie-Laure was asked: 'Charles, he likes men, or does he like women?' She always replied: "Charles? He likes flowers." In fact he preferred men, as Marie-Laure discovered early in their married life, when she happened to come to his bedroom one afternoon and found him in bed with his good-looking gym instructor. But the incident was not discussed. They lived lives in part separate, in part together, and in many ways as a devoted couple, telephoning and writing to each other every day when they were apart. And even when in the same house, she would write him a letter and push it under his door, and promptly he would reply. Charles died on 28 April 1981 in Grasse.


Patrons of the arts

Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles were patrons of the arts. Their 'hotel' at Place des Etats-Unis was restored in modern style in 1926 by Jean-Michel Franck, and was a focus for a large circle. In 1929, Charles de Noailles bought the manuscript of ''
The 120 Days of Sodom ''The 120 Days of Sodom, or the School of Libertinage'' (french: Les 120 Journées de Sodome ou l'école du libertinage, links=no) is an unfinished novel by the French writer and nobleman Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade, written in ...
'', the first great work of the
Marquis de Sade Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814), was a French nobleman, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer famous for his literary depictions of a libertine sexuality as well as numerous accusat ...
. His wife Marie-Laure was a direct descendant of de Sade.Sciolino, Elaine. (22 January 2013). ''It's a Sadistic Story, and France Wants It''. ''The New York Times'', pg C5. Charles financed
Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealism, Surrealist movements, although his t ...
's film ''
Les Mystères du Château de Dé ''Les Mystères du Château de Dé'' (The Mysteries of the Chateau of Dice) is a 1929 film directed by Man Ray. It depicts a pair of travellers setting off from Paris and travelling to the Villa Noailles in Hyères. At 27 minutes the film was the ...
'' (1929), which centers around
Villa Noailles Villa Noailles () is an early modernist house, built by architect Robert Mallet-Stevens for art patrons Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles, between 1923 and 1927. It is located in the hills above Hyères, in the Var, southeastern France. His ...
in Hyères. He also financed
Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...
's film ''Le Sang d'un Poète'' (1930) and
Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and m ...
and
Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...
's ''
L'Âge d'Or ''L'Age d'Or'' (french: L'Âge d'Or, ), commonly translated as ''The Golden Age'' or ''Age of Gold'', is a 1930 French surrealist satirical comedy film directed by Luis Buñuel about the insanities of modern life, the hypocrisy of the sexual m ...
'' (1930). Charles and his wife appeared in ''Les Mystères du Château de Dé'' as well as ''Le Sang d'un Poète''. In 1929 or 1930, Charles made possible the career of Dali by purchasing in advance a large work for 29,000 francs, thus enabling Dali and Gala to return from Paris to Port Lligat and devote themselves to his art. The de Noailles had an extensive correspondence with
Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among the best-kno ...
and commissioned him on two occasions. He received 25000 Francs for ''
Aubade An aubade is a morning love song (as opposed to a serenade, intended for performance in the evening), or a song or poem about lovers separating at dawn. It has also been defined as "a song or instrumental composition concerning, accompanying, or ev ...
'', which he wrote for one of their balls at Place des États-Unis where it premiered on 18 June 1929. ''Le Bal Masqué'', inspired by
Max Jacob Max Jacob (; 12 July 1876 – 5 March 1944) was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic. Life and career After spending his childhood in Quimper, Brittany, he enrolled in the Paris Colonial School, which he left in 1897 for an artistic ca ...
's ''Le Laboratoire Central'', was written for a private celebration on 20 April 1932 at the municipal theatre in Hyères.


Gardener

Charles de Noailles was an inveterate gardener. With Roy Lancaster, he published ''Plantes de jardins méditerranéens'', and
Camellia sasanqua ''Camellia sasanqua'', with common name sasanqua camellia, is a species of ''Camellia'' native to China and Japan. It is usually found growing up to an altitude of 900 metres. It is an evergreen shrub growing to 5 m tall. The leaves are bro ...
''Vicomte de Noailles'' was named after him.


Bibliography

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References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Noailles, Charles de 1891 births 1981 deaths French socialites French art collectors French landscape and garden designers French gardeners LGBT people from France Viscounts of France
Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...
20th-century LGBT people