Hôtel de Condé
Encyclopedia
The Hôtel de Mademoiselle de Condé, 12 rue Monsieur (Paris VIIe
), has been referred to simply as the Hôtel de Condé, but this name can result in confusion, as it was also used for the main Paris seat of the princes of Condé
. The building is also called the Hôtel de Bourbon-Condé, since it was built for Louise Adélaïde de Bourbon
. The architect was Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart
.
In 1780 the twenty-three-year-old unmarried daughter of the Prince of Condé, Louise Adélaïde, also known as Mademoiselle de Condé, requested permission to leave the convent of Panthémont, where she had been educated, to live in the world. To suit her station in life a generous site was purchased in the rue Monsieur on the Left Bank, where Brogniart erected a splendid house. Previously, while working for the marquis de Montesquiou
in 1778, Brongniart had received permission to open the rue Monsieur, where he also built stables for the Count of Provence
, and a hôtel
for the Archives de l'ordre Saint-Lazare
. The house was situated behind an enclosed court, entered through a central carriage passage, and faced a garden into which the central oval salon projected.
By 1782 the menuisier (chair-maker
) Georges Jacob
had delivered seat furnishings to the amount of 13,958 livres and Jean-François Leleu
, a prominent ébéniste
(cabinetmaker), had rendered a bill for veneered case-pieces, but no detailed contemporary description of the interiors survives: Horace Walpole mentioned this "Hôtel de Condé" in passing as an exemplar of the latest French neoclassical taste, after he had his first view of the Prince of Wales's Carlton House
, London, in September 1785.
The garden was landscaped in the genre pittoresque, the informal "picturesque genre" that was one aspect of French Anglomania in the 1780s. From the Boulevard des Invalides, passing along the garden, an open iron fence gave passers-by a view of the principal facade, the garden front in its landscaped setting.
In the forecourt, long stucco panels in low-relief of children engaged in Bacchanalian procession were supplied by Clodion (Claude Michel
). The art historian Michael Levey has written that "the superb stucco decorations for the courtyard of the Hôtel de Bourbon-Condé ... [are] wonderfully zestful and redolent of the Renaissance in [their] unforced, enchanted pagan air, bringing hints of the countryside of antiquity into late eighteenth-century urban Paris." The reliefs were eventually removed the walls of the courtyard and have been conserved at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
since 1959.
Considerations of rank prevented the princesse de Condé from marriage, and in 1789 she escaped the first stages of the French Revolution
; in 1802, in Poland she took the veil, and returned to Paris in 1816, to consecrate the rest of her life to religious work. She died in 1824, but she never again resided in Brogniart's Hôtel de Condé.
VIIe arrondissement
The 7th arrondissement of Paris is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. It includes some of Paris's major tourist attractions, such as the Eiffel Tower and the Hôtel des Invalides , and a concentration of such world famous museums as the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée du quai...
), has been referred to simply as the Hôtel de Condé, but this name can result in confusion, as it was also used for the main Paris seat of the princes of Condé
Hôtel de Condé
The Hôtel de Mademoiselle de Condé, 12 rue Monsieur , has been referred to simply as the Hôtel de Condé, but this name can result in confusion, as it was also used for the main Paris seat of the princes of Condé. The building is also called the Hôtel de Bourbon-Condé, since it was built for Louise...
. The building is also called the Hôtel de Bourbon-Condé, since it was built for Louise Adélaïde de Bourbon
Louise Adélaïde de Bourbon (1757–1824)
Louise Adélaïde de Bourbon was a French nun. She was the last Remiremont abbess and founded at the beginning of the Bourbon Restoration a religious community that became famous among French Catholics under the name of Bénédictines de la rue Monsieur...
. The architect was Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart
Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart
Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart was a prominent French architect.Born in Paris, France. A prominent member of Parisian society, in 1767 he married Anne-Louise d'Egremont...
.
In 1780 the twenty-three-year-old unmarried daughter of the Prince of Condé, Louise Adélaïde, also known as Mademoiselle de Condé, requested permission to leave the convent of Panthémont, where she had been educated, to live in the world. To suit her station in life a generous site was purchased in the rue Monsieur on the Left Bank, where Brogniart erected a splendid house. Previously, while working for the marquis de Montesquiou
Anne-Pierre, marquis de Montesquiou-Fézensac
Anne-Pierre, marquis de Montesquiou-Fézensac was a French general and writer.He was born in Paris, of an ancient family of Armagnac. He was brought up with the children of the king of France, and showed some taste for letters...
in 1778, Brongniart had received permission to open the rue Monsieur, where he also built stables for the Count of Provence
Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
, and a hôtel
Hôtel particulier
In French contexts an hôtel particulier is an urban "private house" of a grand sort. Whereas an ordinary maison was built as part of a row, sharing party walls with the houses on either side and directly fronting on a street, an hôtel particulier was often free-standing, and by the 18th century it...
for the Archives de l'ordre Saint-Lazare
Order of Saint Lazarus
This article concerns the order of knighthood named after Saint Lazarus. For other uses of the name Lazarus, see Lazarus .The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem is an order of chivalry which originated in a leper hospital founded by the Knights Hospitaller in 1098 by the...
. The house was situated behind an enclosed court, entered through a central carriage passage, and faced a garden into which the central oval salon projected.
By 1782 the menuisier (chair-maker
Chair-maker
Since the mid-17th century a chair-maker is a craftsman in the furniture trades specializing in chairs. Before that time seats were made by joiners, turners, and coffermakers, and woven seats were made by basketmakers...
) Georges Jacob
Georges Jacob
Georges Jacob was one of the two most prominent Parisian master menuisiers, producing carved, painted and gilded beds and seat furniture and upholstery work for the French royal châteaux, in the early Neoclassical style that is usually associated with Louis Seize.Jacob arrived in Paris in 1754 and...
had delivered seat furnishings to the amount of 13,958 livres and Jean-François Leleu
Jean-François Leleu
Jean-François Leleu was a leading French furniture-maker of the eighteenth century.Leleu was trained in the workshop of Jean-François Oeben , and after his master's death took the workshop's lead and became master in 1764. His furniture was known for its high quality, elegance, and restraint,...
, a prominent ébéniste
Ébéniste
Ébéniste is the French word for a cabinetmaker, whereas in French menuisier denotes a woodcarver or chairmaker. The English equivalent for "ébéniste," "ebonist," is never commonly used. Originally, an ébéniste was one who worked with ebony, a favoured luxury wood for mid-seventeenth century...
(cabinetmaker), had rendered a bill for veneered case-pieces, but no detailed contemporary description of the interiors survives: Horace Walpole mentioned this "Hôtel de Condé" in passing as an exemplar of the latest French neoclassical taste, after he had his first view of the Prince of Wales's Carlton House
Carlton House
Carlton House was a mansion in London, best known as the town residence of the Prince Regent for several decades from 1783. It faced the south side of Pall Mall, and its gardens abutted St. James's Park in the St James's district of London...
, London, in September 1785.
The garden was landscaped in the genre pittoresque, the informal "picturesque genre" that was one aspect of French Anglomania in the 1780s. From the Boulevard des Invalides, passing along the garden, an open iron fence gave passers-by a view of the principal facade, the garden front in its landscaped setting.
In the forecourt, long stucco panels in low-relief of children engaged in Bacchanalian procession were supplied by Clodion (Claude Michel
Claude Michel
Claude Michel , known as Clodion, was a French sculptor in the Rococo style. He was born in Nancy. Here and probably in Lille he spent the earlier years of his life. In 1755 he came to Paris and entered the workshop of Lambert Sigisbert Adam, his maternal uncle, a clever sculptor...
). The art historian Michael Levey has written that "the superb stucco decorations for the courtyard of the Hôtel de Bourbon-Condé ... [are] wonderfully zestful and redolent of the Renaissance in [their] unforced, enchanted pagan air, bringing hints of the countryside of antiquity into late eighteenth-century urban Paris." The reliefs were eventually removed the walls of the courtyard and have been conserved at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
since 1959.
Considerations of rank prevented the princesse de Condé from marriage, and in 1789 she escaped the first stages 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...
; in 1802, in Poland she took the veil, and returned to Paris in 1816, to consecrate the rest of her life to religious work. She died in 1824, but she never again resided in Brogniart's Hôtel de Condé.
Sources
- Bauchal, Charles (1887). Nouveau dictionnaire biographique et critique des architectes français . Paris: André, Daly Fils. View at Google Books
- Braham, Allan (1980). The architecture of the French enlightenment, pp. 210–219. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. ISBN 9780520041172. Limited view at Google Books.
- Cunningham, Peter, ed. (1906). The letters of Horace Walpole: fourth earl of Orford, vol. 9, p. 14. Edinburgh: John Grant. View at Google Books.
- Levey, Michael (1995). Painting and Sculpture in France 1700-1789. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300064940. Limited view at Google Books.
- Parker, James (1967). "Clodion's Bas-Reliefs from the Hôtel de Condé" in The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin New Series, 25.6 (February 1967): 230–241. (PDF file available at metmuseum.org)
External links
- Photographs of the building exterior, interior and grounds: HP Bourbon-Condé, Paris VIIème - Blog de riesener - Club Doctissimo.
- Facade of 12 rue Monsieur: street view at Google MapsGoogle MapsGoogle Maps is a web mapping service application and technology provided by Google, free , that powers many map-based services, including the Google Maps website, Google Ride Finder, Google Transit, and maps embedded on third-party websites via the Google Maps API...
. - "Le décor de la cour de l'hôtel de Bourbon-Condé par Clodion (1738-1814)" at insecula.com.