Château d'Artigny or Château Le Puy d'Artigny is a French
castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
located in the
commune of
Montbazon
Montbazon () is a Communes of France, commune in the Indre-et-Loire Departments of France, department, France. It is located on the river Indre (river), Indre between the towns of Veigné, Monts and Sorigny. The town is about 12 km from Tour ...
, in the department of
Indre-et-Loire
Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River. In 2019, it had a population of 610,079.[Centre-Val de Loire
Centre-Val de Loire (; ,In isolation, ''Centre'' is pronounced . ) or Centre Region (, ), as it was known until 2015, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France. It straddles the middle Loire Valley in the interior ...]
region of
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. The current structure was built between 1912 and 1928 to serve as residence to perfumer
François Coty
François Coty (; born Joseph Marie François Spoturno ; 3 May 1874 – 25 July 1934) was a French perfumer, businessman, newspaper publisher, politician and patron of the arts. He was the founder of the Coty, Coty perfume company, today a multin ...
. Since the late 1950s, the castle has been converted into a
hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...
.
The first castles
Having originally been constructed as a fortress around the
keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...
of Montbazon, an advanced bastion, during the
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...
, the Château d'Artigny was incorporated into the line of defences established along the river
Indre
Indre (); is a department in central France named after the river Indre. The inhabitants of the department are known as the ''Indriens'' (masculine; ) and ''Indriennes'' (feminine; ). Indre is part of the current administrative region of Cent ...
. Jean d’Artannes captain governor of Montbazon, after whom a nearby village is named, owned it in the fifteen century. The name d’Artannes became over the centuries d’Artigny. It was subsequently altered in the Renaissance style during the 18th century. In the following century it passed in the hands of Joseph Testard de Bouranis, the king's treasurer, who replaced it with a new construction which survived the
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
and was later modified into a
Neo Renaissance style in the 19th Century.
François Coty
On 30 July 1912 perfumer
François Coty
François Coty (; born Joseph Marie François Spoturno ; 3 May 1874 – 25 July 1934) was a French perfumer, businessman, newspaper publisher, politician and patron of the arts. He was the founder of the Coty, Coty perfume company, today a multin ...
, bought the château.
On a journey around
Touraine
Touraine (; ) is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher, Indre and Vien ...
he was captivated by the location but, feeling the building to be unbalanced and badly placed on the cliff overlooking the Indre, he had the château pulled down and rebuilt 12 metres further away on new foundations. Measuring 60 metres by 18 metres and 27 tall. On the outside, it was almost a mirror image of the château at
Épinay-Champlâtreux
Épinay-Champlâtreux () is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France.
See also
*Communes of the Val-d'Oise department
The following is a list of the 183 Communes of France, communes of the Val-d'Oise Depart ...
which was constructed by the architect
Jean-Michel Chevotet
Jean-Michel Chevotet (11 July 1698, Paris – 4 December 1772) was a French architect. He and Pierre Contant d'Ivry were among the most eminent Parisian architects of the day and designed in both the restrained French Rococo manner, known as the ...
between 1751 and 1757. The interior plan of the château, however, was inspired by the Château de Voisins, near
Rambouillet
Rambouillet (, , ) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region of France. It is located beyond the outskirts of Paris, southwest of its Kilometr ...
, where a long gallery gives on to a series of huge rooms all linked to each other. There was a grand reception room, a library, a small salon, a dining room and the main stairwell. A chapel, a copy of the one at the
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
, albeit a quarter of the size, was connected to the main building by an underground passage.
The main construction work was completed between 1913 and 1928, and the fittings and interior decoration followed. Apart from his perfumes, Coty's finest creation was the Château d’Artigny.
Coty, employed architects,
Emmanuel Pontremoli
Emmanuel Pontremoli (13 January 1865 – 25 July 1956) was a French architect and archaeologist.
Biography
Pontremonli was born in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, to a Jewish family from Piedmont; he studied in the ''atelier'' of Louis-Jules André. ...
, was just one of the architects who along with many draftsmen, was subjected to Coty's active participation in every aspects of the plans and execution. Over one hundred workers labored for twelve years, and still the château was not finished. Master builders, sculptors, carvers, tile setters, painters, craftsmen and labourers.
Denys Puech
Denys Puech (3 December 1854, Gavernac, Bozouls, Aveyron – December 1942, Rodez, Aveyron) was a French sculptor.
Biography
From a family of farmers (his brother was Louis Puech, Député for the Seine Department from 1898 to 1932, and Min ...
, the official sculptor (a receiver of the
Prix de Rome
The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...
) constructed an 18th-century style allegory on the
tympanum of the
pediment
Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...
of the central front section overlooking the Indre valley. Nothing was too fine or too luxurious: the polished stone stairway from Lens, the dining room with its marble floor from Carrare, inlaid with a variety of bronze motifs, the Regency woodwork and the carved columns gilded with gold leaf.
From 1929 up until Coty's death in 1934 at his residence at
Louveciennes
Louveciennes () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, between Versailles (city), V ...
, he lived for half of the year at Artigny with his family. During this time, About 40 employees and bodyguards were employed on the estate, which encompassed seven kilometres of river, French gardens, orchard greenhouses, several farms, three mills, a hunting lodge, a
rectory
A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...
and some abandoned school buildings.
The most important room, the most original and most beautiful room of the château is the rotunda on the first floor. This reception room with its high windows overlooking the Indre valley and opening on to François Coty's study is crowned at a height of 9.2 metres by a cupola decorated with a ''
trompe-l'œil
; ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a Two-dimensional space, two-dimensional surface. , which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into perceiving p ...
'' by
Charles Hoffbauer, a receiver of the Grand Prix de Rome 1924, and depicted a costume ball with friends and family; among them Coty's son-in-law, Paul Dubonnet, actresses
Mary Marquet
Mary Marquet (born Micheline Marguerite Delphine Marquet; 14 April 1895 – 29 August 1979) was a Russian-French stage and film actress.
Career
Marquet came from a family of artists: her parents were actors, an aunt was a star dancer at the P ...
,
Edwige Feuillère
Edwige Feuillère (born Edwige Louise Caroline Cunatti; 29 October 1907 – 13 November 1998) was a French stage and film actress.
Biography
She was born Edwige Louise Caroline Cunatti to an Italian architect father and an Alsace-born moth ...
and
Cécile Sorel
Céline Émilie Seurre (7 September 1873 in Paris – 3 September 1966 in Trouville-sur-Mer), known as Cécile Sorel or the Comtesse de Ségur by marriage, was a French comic actress. She enjoyed great popularity and was known for her extravagant ...
, the ballet masters
Serge Lifar
Serge Lifar (, ''Serhіy Mуkhailovуch Lуfar'') ( 15 December 1986) was a Ukrainian dancer, choreographer, and one of the greatest male ballet dancers of the 20th century. Lifar was also a choreographer, director, writer, theoretician abou ...
and
Serge Diaghilev
Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), also known as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario an ...
, the painter
Foujita
was a Japanese–French painter. After having studied Western-style painting in Japan, Foujita traveled to Paris, where he encountered the international modern art scene of the Montparnasse neighborhood and developed an eclectic style that borrow ...
, and the
Aga Khan
Aga Khan (; ; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imamate in Nizari doctrine, Imām of the Nizari Isma'ilism, Nizari Isma'ilism, Ismāʿīli Shia Islam, Shias. The current holder of the title is the ...
.
After Coty
Following the
crash of 1929, and due to a costly lifestyle, a disastrous divorce, and the expense of his press empire, Coty's fortune in liquid assets was much diminished. After his death, the château is temporarily escrowed as security for his creditors and his art collections were sold at auction in 124 lots at the
Galerie Charpentier The Galerie Charpentier was a gallery of historic and contemporary art in Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048 ...
in Paris on 30 November and 1 December 1936.
In 1940, at the time when the French capital was relocated to
Tours
Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...
, the château had been identified as a potential shelter by a local aide-de-camp of
Admiral Darlan
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of th ...
and was subsequently occupied by the Department of the Navy. In 1941 it lay empty for a few months before being occupied by German troops until 1942, who in the meantime had painted the château brown to act as camouflage. Finally, it served as an annexe of Tours hospital, catering for the seriously wounded.
Coty's family once again took possession of the château in 1947 and were made several offers. The projects to convert it into the head office of
Indre-et-Loire
Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River. In 2019, it had a population of 610,079.[Centre-Val de Loire
Centre-Val de Loire (; ,In isolation, ''Centre'' is pronounced . ) or Centre Region (, ), as it was known until 2015, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France. It straddles the middle Loire Valley in the interior ...]
. The wine cellar holds around 45,000 bottles of French wine, the finest collection in the world of Touraine wines. Since opening, Artigny has welcomed a number of personalities such as the
Queen Mother
A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the monarch, reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also ...
and in 1963
Haile Selassie I
Haile Selassie I (born Tafari Makonnen or ''Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles#Lij, Lij'' Tafari; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as the Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles, Rege ...
, the last emperor of Ethiopia.
On 24–25 November 1973, under the guise of the establishment's annual closing, the finance ministers of the
G5 countries met in the château, with
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, ; ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as simply Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981.
After serving as Ministry of the Economy ...
presiding for France.
In April 1976, an inconspicuous meeting took place between the French President and his future successor,
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was a French politician and statesman who served as President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest holder of that position in the history of France. As a former First ...
.
Artigny still belongs to the family hotel group, "Grandes Étapes Françaises", whose president is Pierre Traversac. The château-hotel has 65 bedrooms, two dining rooms and a spa.
Bibliography
*
*
References
External links
*
Château d'Artigny on Bridgeman images
{{DEFAULTSORT:Artigny
Châteaux in Indre-et-Loire
Houses completed in 1928
Hotels in France
20th-century architecture in France