The Hôtel de Felzins in
Toulouse
Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
, France, is a
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
''
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 ...
'' (''palace'') of the 16th century, also called Hôtel de Molinier.
This mansion located in the historical center of Toulouse was built in the middle of the 16th century (1550-1556) for parliamentarian Gaspard Molinier.
The hotel is representative of the Toulouse mansions, characteristic with its Renaissance motifs. It is particularly noteworthy for its Mannerist portal on the Rue de la Dalbade, with rich and exuberant decor.
A room on the ground floor has preserved its monumental fireplace of the sixteenth century, Henry II style. Engraved above the upper bas-relief, which represents the demi-god Hercules, are the mentions ''Hercules Gallicus'' and ''Charitas nunquam excidit''. Two medallions represent Roman emperors.
History
Works to build this house started in 1550 for Gaspard Molinier, a powerful man and long time member of the
parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
. The entrance comprises a monumental gate surmounted with numerous sculptures, including monstruous beings and marble inlays. This ensemble corresponds to the then-new style known today as
mannerism
Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...
, whose principal traits are an abundance of sculpted figures, the depiction of a fantastic bestiary, and a marked taste for relief and polychromatic interplays.
[Explanatory comments of ''Toulouse Renaissance'' exhibition (2018), Colin Debuiche.]
The taste for marble inlays in architecture would endure until the start of the following century. The quarries of the
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...
were the source of this precious material which, from Toulouse, was sent to royal building projects, such as the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
. The sculptor, as yet unidentified, drew inspiration from the engravings of
Marcantonio Raimondi
Marcantonio Raimondi, often called simply Marcantonio ( – ), was an Italian engraver, known for being the first important printmaker whose body of work consists largely of prints copying paintings. He is therefore a key figure in the rise of ...
and the works of the royal architect
Sebastiano Serlio
Sebastiano Serlio (6 September 1475 – c. 1554) was an Italian Mannerist architect, who was part of the Italian team building the Palace of Fontainebleau. Serlio helped canonize the classical orders of architecture in his influential treatise ...
.
The turret of the second courtyard gave rise to some erudite ornamentation: magnificently sculpted ''putti'' play with a floral garland, symbolizing abundance and fertility. Immediately above them, the small consoles featuring pods or cloves resemble those of
Hôtel d'Assézat
The Hôtel d'Assézat in Toulouse, France, is a French Renaissance architecture, French Renaissance ''hôtel particulier'' (individual mansion) of the 16th century which houses the Bemberg Foundation, a major art gallery of the city.
The hôtel w ...
.
Hôtel Molinier also contains the most beautiful fireplace of Renaissance Toulouse, it being built between 1551 and 1556. The sculptor took for model a fireplace of ''Château de Madrid'' (a royal castle near Paris) designed by
Girolamo della Robbia
Girolamo della Robbia (1488 – 4 August 1566) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor, mostly in the family style of glazed terracotta, the youngest son of Andrea della Robbia, together with his brother Giovanni della Robbia were among the mo ...
for king Francis I. The hood bears a scene that evoke Christian charity, through the inscription, and a Gaulish Hercules on the sculpted bas-relief. Hercules enchains the populace, without restraining them, by means of a bond that links his mouth to the ears of Man. It is, therefore, a celebration of eloquence and good government, a symbol French royalty would appropriate in the sixteenth century. Combining the virtues of Christianity, politics and intellect, the sculpture of the fireplace commissioned by Gaspard Molinier reflected the aspirations of the erstwhile consellor to the king.
Pictures
Felzins-facade.jpg
Toulouse hotel Molinier - inspiration Serlio-en.jpg
Felzins-detail-1.jpg
Felzins-detail-2.jpg
Felzins-detail-3.jpg
Veneziano-molinier.jpg
Felzins-tympan.jpg
Bachelier - Hôtel Felzins cour interieure.jpg
Hôtel Molinier - Fenetre.jpg
Hôtel Felzins, Toulouse, cour intérieur.jpg
Hôtel Felzins, cour intérieure.JPG
Molinier-cour-cdl.jpg
Putti_molinier.jpg
Molinier-fenetre2.jpg
See also
*
Renaissance architecture of Toulouse
In the 16th century, the Renaissance, which called for a return to the models of Roman antiquity, spread throughout Europe from Italy, notably through treatises and engravings referring to the treatise ''De architectura'' by Vitruvius (90–20 BC) ...
Bibliography
* Guy Ahlsell de Toulza, Louis Peyrusse, Bruno Tollon, ''Hôtels et Demeures de Toulouse et du Midi Toulousain'', Daniel Briand éditeur, Drémil Lafage, 1997
References
External links
* Nathalie Prat, Colin Debuiche et Karyn Zimmermann, « Fiche d'information détaillée Patrimoine Architectural: IA31116381 », sur le sit
Urban-Hist Archives de Toulouse, 1996 et 2008.
« Hôtel de Molinier, puis hôtel de Cathelan, puis hôtel de Felzins » site du Ministère de la culture.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hotel Felzins
Houses completed in the 16th century
Buildings and structures in Toulouse
Renaissance architecture in Toulouse
Hôtels particuliers in Toulouse