Fontaine dite fontaine Saint-Cellerin
MonumentHidden Treasure
Fontaine dite fontaine Saint-Cellerin, located in Montrichard (Loir-et-Cher), 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
- Montrichard, Loir-et-Cher, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.3429, 1.1851
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00098515
At the foot of the donjon de Montrichard, the fontaine Saint-Cellerin has combined sculpted stone and running water since the 16th century, bearing the coat of arms of Jacques de Beaune-Semblançay, the powerful treasurer of François Ier.
© Wikimedia Commons / Wikipedia
History
Nestling in the hollow of the rock that supports Montrichard's imposing keep, the Saint-Cellerin fountain is one of those discreet works of art that you come across almost by chance, bending down an alleyway in the old town in the Cher valley. Set against a carved stone wall, it combines the useful and the decorative with the sober elegance that the early French Renaissance knew how to imbue in its most modest civil works. What immediately sets the fountain apart is its pyramid shape, topping the water collection basin: a rare architectural silhouette for this type of hydraulic structure in the Loir-et-Cher region. The austere but well-proportioned stone pyramid, topped with a sculpted motif, gives the whole an almost monumental presence that village fountains don't usually possess. On the right, a bas-relief proudly bears the coat of arms of Jacques de Beaune-Semblançay, reminding those who know how to read stone that this work was commissioned by one of the most powerful men in the kingdom of France. The spring that feeds the fountain springs directly from the tutelary rock on which the medieval keep stands: the water thus descends from the very heart of the fortress to irrigate the lower town, a living symbol of the link between seigniorial power and the daily lives of the inhabitants. This geological continuity between the military monument and the civil structure is a precious geographical curiosity. A visit to the Saint-Cellerin fountain is a natural part of a walking tour of Montrichard, with its keep, troglodytic caves and banks of the Cher. Visitors who stop for a moment in front of the heraldic bas-relief will be rewarded with a plunge into the tormented history of a great family of royal financiers, whose tragic downfall remains one of the most dramatic episodes of the reign of François I.
Architecture
The Saint-Cellerin fountain is built around a pyramid-shaped ashlar structure, the central and distinctive feature of the composition. This pyramid, whose silhouette is more reminiscent of a work of learned architecture than a simple hydrant, covers and protects the inner basin into which the spring water flows. The top of the pyramid is crowned with a sculpted motif - probably a ball or finial - which accentuates the monumental aspect of the whole, despite the modest size of the structure. The building backs onto a masonry wall made of local stone, probably tufa or Cher limestone, the preferred material for Renaissance buildings in the Loire region. On the right-hand side of this wall is a heraldic bas-relief bearing the coat of arms of Jacques de Beaune-Semblançay: this carefully crafted sculpted panel is the fountain's main decorative feature and its main iconographic interest. The treatment of the coat of arms, in the style of the Touraine workshops of the early 16th century, reveals the hand of a skilled craftsman, accustomed to commissions from the aristocracy and high royal finance. The spring that feeds the basin emerges directly from the limestone rock on which the Montrichard keep rests, giving the fountain an original geological dimension: the water filters through the rocky massif and rises naturally at this level, without the need for a complex artificial conduit. The reception basin, carved out of the stone, has a sober profile suited to everyday public use. Despite the alterations made in the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, the ensemble retains a formal coherence that links it unambiguously to the tradition of civil fountains in the Loire during the Renaissance.
Related Figures
Jacques de Beaune-Semblançay — surintendant des finances de François Ier, commanditaire de la fontaine, pendu en 1527François Ier — roi de France sous lequel Semblançay exerça ses fonctions et fut condamnéClément Marot — poète français qui immortalisa la mort de Semblançay dans une épigramme célèbreLouise de Savoie — mère de François Ier, qui aurait activement œuvré à la chute de SemblançaySaint Cellerin — saint local dont le culte des eaux a donné son nom à la fontaine
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Fontaine dite fontaine Saint-Cellerin located?
Fontaine dite fontaine Saint-Cellerin is located in Montrichard, Loir-et-Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
When was Fontaine dite fontaine Saint-Cellerin built?
Fontaine dite fontaine Saint-Cellerin dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Fontaine dite fontaine Saint-Cellerin open to visitors?
Fontaine dite fontaine Saint-Cellerin is currently closed to visitors.