Ancien Hôtel du Premier Président du Conseil Provincial d'Artois, dénommé actuellement hôtel de Guînes
Monument
Ancien Hôtel du Premier Président du Conseil Provincial d'Artois, dénommé actuellement hôtel de Guînes, located in Arras (Pas-de-Calais), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Arras, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 50.2912, 2.7738
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00107976
A discreet jewel of the 18th century in Arras, the Hôtel de Guînes features white stone facades and Doric pilasters around a courtyard of honour of rare elegance, a precious testimony to the provincial aristocracy under the Ancien Régime.
History
In the heart of Arras, in a street whose name evokes medieval jugglers, lies one of the rare 18th-century town houses to have survived the centuries without losing its soul. The Hôtel de Guînes - formerly the residence of the First President of the Artois Provincial Council - is an island of classical grace in a town best known for its Flemish arcaded houses and Baroque facades. Its very discretion is its first charm: you have to step through the porch to discover the courtyard of honour and its meticulous architecture. What makes this building truly unique is the skilful balance between the rigour of French classicism and the ornamental liberties of the rocaille style that flourished around 1740. The triangular pediment on the courtyard façade, the fluted pilasters with Doric capitals, the historiated frieze and the rose-inlaid coffers make up a remarkably coherent decorative ensemble, in stark contrast to the excesses sometimes seen in contemporary provincial hotels. The keystones carved with women's heads give the paired bays an almost portrait-like expressiveness. The interior holds some equally precious surprises. The three rooms on the ground floor, with their identical volumes, retain their parquet flooring, panelling, fireplaces and ceilings in an eighteenth-century style enriched by alterations from the following century - a decorative palimpsest that gives these rooms added historical depth. You can imagine the receptions of the high magistrates of Artesia, the political conversations under the gilded panelling, the life of a provincial elite at its zenith. The Hôtel de Guînes is also a monument to resilience. Burnt down in 1915 during the violent bombardments that ravaged Arras, and partially destroyed, it was patiently restored over the course of the twentieth century. The large cast-iron and glass veranda that the Boyenval family had added at the end of the nineteenth century - an architectural curiosity in itself - disappeared during the restoration work, leaving the building with a silhouette closer to its original state. For heritage lovers, the visit is a natural part of a tour of the town's private mansions, alongside the Hôtel Dubois de Fosseux, now the Court of Auditors. Together, they form the two pillars of an exceptional civil architecture that bears witness to the cultural and legal prosperity of Artois in the Age of Enlightenment.
Architecture
The Hôtel de Guînes is laid out in a U-shape typical of the great French private mansions of the 18th century, with the main building arranged around a main courtyard enclosed by service buildings. The five-bay, two-storey main building rests on a relatively high sandstone base, giving it a solid foundation and a slight height. The slate gable roof, with two dormer windows in line with the second and fourth bays, respects the classic canons of French residential architecture. It is the façade facing the main courtyard that concentrates most of the building's architectural and ornamental expression. Entirely finished in white stone, it reveals a rigorously symmetrical composition enlivened by a three-bay by five-bay central projection, a veritable stylistic manifesto for its era. Fluted pilasters with Doric capitals frame twin bays, the keystones of which are carved with remarkably fine female heads. The historiated frieze, rose-encrusted coffers and triangular Rococo-style pediment make up a decorative programme that skilfully blends Doric rigour with the ornamental fantasy typical of the French taste of the 1740s. The rue des Jongleurs façade is more sober, with a single storey and an attic, and a slightly recessed curvilinear axial bay that introduces a touch of Baroque dynamism. Inside, the three lounges on the ground floor bear witness to the care taken to ensure comfort and representation. Their parquet flooring, sculpted panelling, monumental fireplaces and stuccoed ceilings make up a high-quality decorative ensemble, which was probably enhanced during the 19th-century alterations. The lower-roofed service buildings, with their attic on a high plinth and their slate roofs with half-timbering, elegantly define the inner courtyard while at the same time asserting the architectural hierarchy characteristic of the classical private mansion.
Related Figures
Premier Président du Conseil Provincial d'Artois (commanditaire, vers 1738)Famille Boyenval (propriétaires, fin XIXe siècle, ajout du jardin d'hiver)Administrateurs révolutionnaires (vente comme bien national, 1792)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ancien Hôtel du Premier Président du Conseil Provincial d'Artois, dénommé actuellement hôtel de Guînes located?
Ancien Hôtel du Premier Président du Conseil Provincial d'Artois, dénommé actuellement hôtel de Guînes is located in Arras, Pas-de-Calais department, Hauts-de-France region, France.
When was Ancien Hôtel du Premier Président du Conseil Provincial d'Artois, dénommé actuellement hôtel de Guînes built?
Ancien Hôtel du Premier Président du Conseil Provincial d'Artois, dénommé actuellement hôtel de Guînes dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Ancien Hôtel du Premier Président du Conseil Provincial d'Artois, dénommé actuellement hôtel de Guînes open to visitors?
Ancien Hôtel du Premier Président du Conseil Provincial d'Artois, dénommé actuellement hôtel de Guînes is currently closed to visitors.