A seventeenth-century Baroque jewel nestling in the heart of Aix-en-Provence, the Hôtel d'Olivary combines the elegance of a genius decorator with the ambition of a wealthy merchant, for a result of rare sophistication.
Along the aristocratic lanes of Aix-en-Provence, the city of a hundred private mansions, the Hôtel d'Olivary - alternately known as the Hôtel Paradis, the Hôtel de Silvacane and the Hôtel Revest-de-Montvert - stands out as one of the most eloquent testimonies to the bourgeois and noble splendour of 17th-century Provence. Listed as a Historic Monument in 1995, it reflects the ambitions of an era when the great merchant fortunes sought to rival the noblesse de robe in terms of architecture and interior refinement. What makes this building truly unique is the personality of its designer: Jean Daret, a Flemish painter based in Aix, was much more than a simple decorator. A versatile artist, he took charge of the architectural and ornamental design of the residence with a mastery that transcends the usual classifications. There are very few private mansions where a painter-decorator can be given such responsibility for defining the overall design. A visit reveals a succession of spaces in which the quality of the Aix stonework combines with the finesse of the interior ornamentation. Eighteenth-century alterations enriched the ensemble with interior decoration in the Rococo and late Classical style, testifying to the continuity of the ambition of successive owners. The extension to the south, carried out during the same century, gave the hotel the additional breadth and depth characteristic of the great urban residences of the region. Placed in the exceptional context of Aix-en-Provence - a city whose historic centre boasts one of the finest collections of private mansions in France - the Hôtel d'Olivary can be appreciated both for the quality of its architecture and for what it says about the social background of those who commissioned it: merchants who became fully-fledged players in the cultural and urban life of classical Provence.
The Hôtel d'Olivary is part of the great tradition of 17th-century Provencal private mansions, characterised by a sober, noble street façade concealing a richly organised interior. Built of ashlar limestone, the king material of Aix architecture, the building features a balanced composition typical of the southern baroque style: moulded cornice, openings with elaborate frames, and the subtle interplay between full and empty spaces that gives Provencal façades their distinctive character. Jean Daret's original design is reflected in his particular attention to ornamental detail, which exceeds the quality and inventiveness of simple masons of the period. The decorative elements of the original construction - mascarons, sculpted architraves, profiled cornices - betray the hand of an artist trained in the arts of drawing and sensitive to Italian and Flemish models. The interior layout follows the classic layout of a mansion in Aigle: an inner courtyard around which the various main buildings are arranged, with a grand staircase leading to the upper floors. Eighteenth-century alterations considerably enriched the interior of the building: the flats were fitted with painted wood panelling, coffered or gypsum ceilings, and wall decoration in the Rococo and then Neoclassical style. The southern extension, built as an extension to the original building, adopts a slightly more sober architectural language, in line with the trend towards greater restraint and classical elegance. The whole ensemble forms an architectural palimpsest in which the successive ambitions of its owners can be read, layer after layer.
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Aix-en-Provence
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
