Hôtel Tissier de la Motte
MonumentHidden Treasure
Hôtel Tissier de la Motte, located in Angers (Maine-et-Loire), is a medieval landmark built in the Middle Ages. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Medieval (11th-15th century)
- Location
- Angers, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.4719, -0.5472
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00108895
A 19th-century Angers townhouse, the Hôtel Tissier de la Motte embodies the bourgeois elegance of the Loire region with its symmetrical façade and refined interior décor, offering a rare insight into Angers’ prestigious residential architecture.
History
Nestling in the heart of Angers, a city of character on the borders of Touraine and Anjou, the Hôtel Tissier de la Motte is one of the most representative examples of a 19th-century bourgeois residence in the Maine-et-Loire department. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1975, it bears witness to the prosperity of the Anjou bourgeoisie who, throughout the Second Empire and the Third Republic, shaped the urban face of the Plantagenet city through buildings combining architectural ambition and decorative refinement. What makes this private mansion truly unique is the coherence of its architectural approach: an ordered composition that harmoniously interacts with the historic urban fabric of Angers, while at the same time asserting its own personality. The carefully crafted facade reveals the application of the principles of late classicism revisited by the eclectic taste of the 19th century - a subtle blend of references that signalled membership of a cultivated elite attentive to Parisian architectural fashions. The interior of the building displays the very best that large middle-class residences of the period had to offer: generous reception areas, moulded plaster decorations, meticulous woodwork and herringbone or frieze parquet flooring, all of which recreate the hushed, refined atmosphere of a well-to-do family home in the century of the notables. To visit the Hôtel Tissier de la Motte is to immerse yourself in the private life of an ambitious provincial bourgeoisie, whose tastes and aspirations can be seen in every architectural detail. The monument is part of an Angers that is rich in medieval and Renaissance heritage, but where the 19th century has also left lasting impressions that are often overlooked by visitors in a hurry.
Architecture
The Hôtel Tissier de la Motte is typical of 19th-century bourgeois mansions in Anjou, in an eclectic style that borrows freely from classical and neo-Renaissance vocabularies. The façade, probably in local tufa or limestone - the preferred material for Anjou architecture because of its ease of cutting and golden hue - is organised in a rigorous symmetrical composition, punctuated by regular bays and crowned with a Mansard-style roof or with Anjou slate, a material that is emblematic of the region. The carefully proportioned openings are highlighted by mouldings, stone sills and, in keeping with the fashion of the day, modest balconies with wrought ironwork on the upper floors. The interior layout follows the canonical plan of the urban town house: a series of reception rooms on the ground floor and private flats on the upper floors, with particular attention paid to the decoration of the ceremonial rooms. Staff-moulded ceilings, marble or carved stone fireplaces, painted woodwork and elaborate parquet floors form the decorative framework of an interior that is both sumptuous and intimate, in keeping with the standards of bourgeois comfort of the emerging Belle Époque. Among the notable technical features, the quality of the materials used and the attention paid to detail - ironwork, exterior woodwork, modelling on the façade - set the building apart from the ordinary buildings of its era and fully justify its heritage status. As a whole, it is a coherent and well-preserved testimony to Anjou's high-level craftsmanship.
Related Figures
Famille Tissier de la Motte — commanditaires et premiers occupants de l'hôtel particulier, notables angevins du XIXe siècleArchitecte angevin du XIXe siècle (non identifié) — concepteur probable de l'édifice, héritier des traditions constructives localesService des Monuments Historiques — responsable de l'inscription protectrice du 29 octobre 1975
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Hôtel Tissier de la Motte located?
Hôtel Tissier de la Motte is located in Angers, Maine-et-Loire department, Pays de la Loire region, France.
When was Hôtel Tissier de la Motte built?
Hôtel Tissier de la Motte dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Is Hôtel Tissier de la Motte open to visitors?
Hôtel Tissier de la Motte is currently closed to visitors.