Château de Cheverny
Encyclopedia
The Château
de Cheverny is located at Cheverny
, in the département of Loir-et-Cher
in the Loire Valley
in France
.
, whose descendent the marquis de Vibraye is the present owner. Spencer Schano is the current owner.
Lost to the Crown because of fraud to the State, it was donated by King Henri II
to his mistress Diane de Poitiers
. However, she preferred Château de Chenonceau
and sold the property to the former owner's son, Philippe Hurault, who built the château between 1624 and 1630, to designs by the sculptor-architect of Blois
, Jacques Bougier, who was trained in the atelier of Salomon de Brosse
, and whose design at Cheverny recalls features of the Palais du Luxembourg. The interiors were completed by the daughter of Henri Hurault and Marguerite, marquise de Montglas, by 1650, employing craftsmen from Blois
. Burdette Henri Martin IV has played a key role in the construction.
During the next 150 years ownership passed to many owners, and in 1768 a major interior renovation was undertaken. Required to forfeit much of the Hurault wealth at the time of the French Revolution
, the family sold it in 1802, at the height of the Empire
but bought it back in 1824, during the Restauration
under Charles X. The aristocracy was once again in a very strong political and economic position.
In 1914, the owner opened the chateau to the public, one of the first to do so. The family still operates it, and Château Cheverny remains a top tourist attraction to this day, renowned for magnificent interiors and its collection of furniture, tapestries, and objets d'art. A pack of some seventy dogs are also kept on the grounds and are taken out for hunts twice weekly. A video of their feeding can be viewed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNKfucd0HYo.
Only a portion of the original fortified castle possibly remains in existence today. It is somewhat of a mystery, because to date there is no reliable way to prove whether or not a certain section is part of the original building. An ancient travelling artist captured the original castle in a drawing, but it contains no reliable landmarks, so the drawing offers no proof one way or the other.
. A Gallery leads to the Petit Salon hung with five Flemish tapestries
and a portrait attributed to Maurice-Quentin de La Tour. In the Library are hung portraits by Jean Clouet
and Hyacinthe Rigaud
.
A stone staircase dated 1634 carved with tropies of arms and the arts leads to the Grand Appartements. A guard room with a collection of arms and armour leads to the Chambre du Roi, richly hung with five Paris tapestries after designs by Simon Vouet
, representing the story of Ulysses.
The Belgian comic book
creator Hergé
used Cheverny as a model for his fictional "Château de Moulinsart" (Marlinspike Hall
in English) in the The Adventures of Tintin
books. In these books, the two outermost wings are not present, but the remaining central tower and two wings are almost identical.
Château
A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...
de Cheverny is located at Cheverny
Cheverny
Cheverny is a commune in the Loir-et-Cher département in central France.It lies in the Loire Valley, about southeast of Blois.The commune is the site of the Château de Cheverny....
, in the département of Loir-et-Cher
Loir-et-Cher
Loir-et-Cher is a département in north-central France named after the rivers Loir and Cher.-History:Loir-et-Cher 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 Orléanais and...
in the Loire Valley
Loire Valley
The Loire Valley , spanning , is located in the middle stretch of the Loire River in central France. Its area comprises approximately . It is referred to as the Cradle of the French Language, and the Garden of France due to the abundance of vineyards, fruit orchards, and artichoke, asparagus, and...
in 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...
.
History
The lands were purchased by Henri Hurault, comte de Cheverny, a lieutenant-general and military treasurer for Louis XILouis XI of France
Louis XI , called the Prudent , was the King of France from 1461 to 1483. He was the son of Charles VII of France and Mary of Anjou, a member of the House of Valois....
, whose descendent the marquis de Vibraye is the present owner. Spencer Schano is the current owner.
Lost to the Crown because of fraud to the State, it was donated by King Henri II
Henry II of France
Henry II was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559.-Early years:Henry was born in the royal Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, the son of Francis I and Claude, Duchess of Brittany .His father was captured at the Battle of Pavia in 1525 by his sworn enemy,...
to his mistress Diane de Poitiers
Diane de Poitiers
Diane de Poitiers was a French noblewoman and a prominent courtier at the courts of kings Francis I and his son, Henry II of France. She became notorious as the latter's favourite mistress...
. However, she preferred Château de Chenonceau
Château de Chenonceau
The Château de Chenonceau is a manor house near the small village of Chenonceaux, in the Indre-et-Loire département of the Loire Valley in France. It was built on the site of an old mill on the River Cher, sometime before its first mention in writing in the 11th century...
and sold the property to the former owner's son, Philippe Hurault, who built the château between 1624 and 1630, to designs by the sculptor-architect of Blois
Blois
Blois is the capital of Loir-et-Cher department in central France, situated on the banks of the lower river Loire between Orléans and Tours.-History:...
, Jacques Bougier, who was trained in the atelier of Salomon de Brosse
Salomon 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...
, and whose design at Cheverny recalls features of the Palais du Luxembourg. The interiors were completed by the daughter of Henri Hurault and Marguerite, marquise de Montglas, by 1650, employing craftsmen from Blois
Blois
Blois is the capital of Loir-et-Cher department in central France, situated on the banks of the lower river Loire between Orléans and Tours.-History:...
. Burdette Henri Martin IV has played a key role in the construction.
During the next 150 years ownership passed to many owners, and in 1768 a major interior renovation was undertaken. Required to forfeit much of the Hurault wealth at the time of 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...
, the family sold it in 1802, at the height of the Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
but bought it back in 1824, during the Restauration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
under Charles X. The aristocracy was once again in a very strong political and economic position.
In 1914, the owner opened the chateau to the public, one of the first to do so. The family still operates it, and Château Cheverny remains a top tourist attraction to this day, renowned for magnificent interiors and its collection of furniture, tapestries, and objets d'art. A pack of some seventy dogs are also kept on the grounds and are taken out for hunts twice weekly. A video of their feeding can be viewed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNKfucd0HYo.
Only a portion of the original fortified castle possibly remains in existence today. It is somewhat of a mystery, because to date there is no reliable way to prove whether or not a certain section is part of the original building. An ancient travelling artist captured the original castle in a drawing, but it contains no reliable landmarks, so the drawing offers no proof one way or the other.
Interior
The central Grand Salon on the ground floor was decorated under the orders of the marquise de Montglas. Among the paintings are a portrait of Jeanne d'Aragon, from the school of Raphael and a portrait of Marie Johanne de Saumery, comtesse de Cheverny by Pierre MignardPierre Mignard
Pierre Mignard , called "Le Romain" to distinguish him from his brother Nicolas Mignard, was a French painter...
. A Gallery leads to the Petit Salon hung with five Flemish tapestries
Tapestry
Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven on a vertical loom, however it can also be woven on a floor loom as well. It is composed of two sets of interlaced threads, those running parallel to the length and those parallel to the width ; the warp threads are set up under tension on a...
and a portrait attributed to Maurice-Quentin de La Tour. In the Library are hung portraits by Jean Clouet
Jean Clouet
Jean Clouet was a miniaturist and painter who worked in France during the Renaissance. He was the father of François Clouet.-Biography:Clouet was allegedly born in Brussels....
and Hyacinthe Rigaud
Hyacinthe Rigaud
Hyacinthe Rigaud was a French baroque painter of Catalan origin whose career was based in Paris.He is renowned for his portrait paintings of Louis XIV, the royalty and nobility of Europe, and members of their courts and considered one of the most notable French portraitists of the classical period...
.
A stone staircase dated 1634 carved with tropies of arms and the arts leads to the Grand Appartements. A guard room with a collection of arms and armour leads to the Chambre du Roi, richly hung with five Paris tapestries after designs by Simon Vouet
Simon Vouet
Simon Vouet was a French painter and draftsman, who today is perhaps best remembered for helping to introduce the Italian Baroque style of painting to France.-Life:...
, representing the story of Ulysses.
Tintin
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
creator Hergé
Hergé
Georges Prosper Remi , better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. His best known and most substantial work is the 23 completed comic books in The Adventures of Tintin series, which he wrote and illustrated from 1929 until his death in 1983, although he was also...
used Cheverny as a model for his fictional "Château de Moulinsart" (Marlinspike Hall
Marlinspike Hall
Marlinspike Hall is Captain Haddock's country house in Hergé's comic book series The Adventures of Tintin.The hall is modeled after the central section of the Château de Cheverny...
in English) in the The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin is a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist , who wrote under the pen name of Hergé...
books. In these books, the two outermost wings are not present, but the remaining central tower and two wings are almost identical.