Blérancourt
Encyclopedia
Blérancourt is a commune
in the department of Aisne
in Picardy
in northern France
.
houses the National Museum of French-American Friendship and Cooperation, (Musée franco-américain), founded by Anne Morgan, daughter of the financier J. Pierpont Morgan (due to reopen in 2007). The collections of the Museum include many works on the theme of WW1, among them several painting of Joseph-Félix Bouchor
.
The corps de logis
of the château no longer exists, but de Brosse's twin cubical stone pavilion
s and a grand entrance gateway approached by a stone bridge across a moat
(now dry) survive. The pavilions have identical façades on all sides, framed in rusticated
quoins at the corners: each consists of a pair of pedimented windows that make a composition with a central œil de bœuf window under a hemicyclical arch that carries the dentilled cornice across and breaks into the roof balustrading above. Slate roofs with cyma curves converge to a central four-sided cap. The central gateway takes the form of a triumphal arch
with a prominent keystone
. The Jardins du Nouveau Monde
, on its grounds, contain an arboretum
and garden plants from the New World
.
The house of Louis de Saint-Just
now houses a museum devoted to the French Revolution
.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the department of Aisne
Aisne
Aisne is a department in the northern part of France named after the Aisne River.- History :Aisne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Île-de-France, Picardie, and Champagne.Most of the old...
in Picardy
Picardy
This article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...
in northern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Population
Sights
The Château de Blérancourt, an influential design by Salomon de BrosseSalomon de Brosse
Salomon de Brosse was the most influential early 17th-century French architect, a major influence on François Mansart. Salomon was from a prominent Huguenot family, the grandson through his mother of the designer Jacques I Androuet du Cerceau and the son of the architect Jean de Brosse...
houses the National Museum of French-American Friendship and Cooperation, (Musée franco-américain), founded by Anne Morgan, daughter of the financier J. Pierpont Morgan (due to reopen in 2007). The collections of the Museum include many works on the theme of WW1, among them several painting of Joseph-Félix Bouchor
Joseph-Félix Bouchor
Joseph-Felix Bouchor was a French painter-Biography:The artist was born in Paris. He studied at the Beaux-Arts. Joseph-Felix Bouchor exhibited his works at the Salon des Artistes Francais in 1878...
.
The corps de logis
Corps de logis
Corps de logis is the architectural term which refers to the principal block of a large, usually classical, mansion or palace. It contains the principal rooms, state apartments and an entry. The grandest and finest rooms are often on the first floor above the ground level: this floor is the...
of the château no longer exists, but de Brosse's twin cubical stone pavilion
Pavilion (structure)
In architecture a pavilion has two main meanings.-Free-standing structure:Pavilion may refer to a free-standing structure sited a short distance from a main residence, whose architecture makes it an object of pleasure. Large or small, there is usually a connection with relaxation and pleasure in...
s and a grand entrance gateway approached by a stone bridge across a moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
(now dry) survive. The pavilions have identical façades on all sides, framed in rusticated
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
quoins at the corners: each consists of a pair of pedimented windows that make a composition with a central œil de bœuf window under a hemicyclical arch that carries the dentilled cornice across and breaks into the roof balustrading above. Slate roofs with cyma curves converge to a central four-sided cap. The central gateway takes the form of a triumphal arch
Triumphal arch
A triumphal arch is a monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, crowned with a flat entablature or attic on which a statue might be...
with a prominent keystone
Keystone (architecture)
A keystone is the wedge-shaped stone piece at the apex of a masonry vault or arch, which is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allowing the arch to bear weight. This makes a keystone very important structurally...
. The Jardins du Nouveau Monde
Jardins du Nouveau Monde
The Jardins du Nouveau Monde are gardens and a small arboretum containing plants from the Western Hemisphere located on the grounds of the Château de Blérancourt, now the Musée national de la Coopération Franco-américaine, in Blérancourt, Aisne, France.The gardens were established on the site of...
, on its grounds, contain an arboretum
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
and garden plants from the New World
Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the Antimeridian , the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.In this sense, the western hemisphere consists of the western portions...
.
The house of Louis de Saint-Just
Louis de Saint-Just
Louis Antoine Léon de Saint-Just , usually known as Saint-Just, was a military and political leader during the French Revolution. The youngest of the deputies elected to the National Convention in 1792, Saint-Just rose quickly in their ranks and became a major leader of the government of the French...
now houses a museum devoted to the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
.
See also
- Communes of the Aisne department
- Musée Franco-Américain website