Hôtel de la Préfecture
MonumentHidden Treasure
A masterpiece of the Périgord Second Empire, the Préfecture de Périgueux displays its ordered classical façade, its sumptuous interiors with trompe-l'œil ceilings and its gilded Corinthian woodwork, a testament to the administrative grandeur of the 19th century.
History
Dominating the heart of Périgueux with the quiet confidence of the great republican institutions, the Hôtel de la Préfecture de la Dordogne is one of the most ambitious buildings of the Second Empire in Périgord. Inaugurated in 1864, the building, designed by the architect Bouillon, stands out as an architectural manifesto of prefectural power: a well-ordered façade, a monumental forebuilding with a broken pediment, symmetrical wings - everything is designed to imprint the dignity of the State in stone. What sets this monument apart from its provincial counterparts is the exceptional richness of its interior spaces. The grand salon, a veritable showcase for receptions, features a three-bay ceiling decorated with medallions opening onto trompe-l'œil painted skies, framed by a band of remarkably well-crafted foliage and putti. Corinthian wood panelling punctuates the walls, between mirrors and stucco medallions, creating an atmosphere halfway between the Palais-Royal and the large provincial Haussmann-style prefectures. The former dining room offers a neo-Louis XV counterpoint of great elegance: its painted plant decorations suspended in a ceiling sky illustrate the Second Empire taste for assertive eclecticism. More restrained but no less striking, the vestibule with its Tuscan columns and coffered ceiling prepares visitors for the ascent to the double staircase, whose antique-style stone banister gracefully evokes the neo-Empire heritage. Hosting two Presidents of the Republic within these walls - Félix Faure in 1895 and Raymond Poincaré in 1913 - was no accident: the building was designed to receive, to represent and to impress. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1975, it still bears witness to the ambitions of an era when administrative architecture was seen as the most visible expression of the power of the State.
Architecture
The Hôtel de la Préfecture in Périgueux belongs to the eclectic academic movement of the Second Empire, which freely invoked the great classical orders while dressing them up with a wealth of ornamentation in keeping with the taste of the mid-19th century. The main facade is structured around a three-storey central forecourt, a veritable compositional centrepiece that respects the classical hierarchy of architectural orders from bottom to top. Framed by flat vermiculated pilasters - the rustication of which evokes the pomp and circumstance of royal architecture - and paired columns, this front section is crowned by a characteristic broken pediment, with a dormer window itself surmounted by a semi-circular pediment. The wings extend to either side of the building. The recessed east facade features two superimposed orders, reminiscent of the great French palatial facades. The first storey continues the Corinthian decoration of the central forecourt, giving the whole a coherent style. Inside, the wealth of decoration is unrivalled in Périgord for a 19th-century civil building. The entrance vestibule, punctuated by Tuscan columns supporting a coffered ceiling, introduces a severe and solemn architectural theme. A semicircular porch leads to the double staircase, whose remarkable handrail of antique-style stone latticework betrays a neo-Empire influence. The walls of the stairwell are covered in large panels of faux marble. The grand reception room is the building's decorative masterpiece: its three-bay ceiling, enlivened by medallions opening onto skies painted in trompe-l'œil, and its running stringcourse of foliage and putti make it an interior worthy of the great Parisian private mansions. The former dining room plays the neo-Louis XV card, with its central sky ceiling and suspended painted plant elements, in a lighter, more intimate vein.
Related Figures
Bouillon — architecte concepteur de l'édifice, inauguré en 1864Félix Faure — président de la République française, reçu à la Préfecture en 1895Raymond Poincaré — président de la République française, reçu à la Préfecture en 1913Napoléon III — dont le régime impulse la construction des grandes préfectures françaisesHaussmann (Baron) — contexte urbanistique et administratif de la modernisation préfectorale française
