La Grande Maison, actuellement Trésor Public
MonumentHidden Treasure
La Grande Maison, actuellement Trésor Public, located in Quintin (Département 22), 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
- Quintin, Département 22, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.4036, -2.9125
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00089563
In the heart of Quintin, the Grande Maison, built in 1728, reveals the discreet elegance of Breton granite: a central trumeau, large paired bays and pedimented dormers make up a masterpiece of classical sobriety.
History
In the centre of Quintin, a small town full of character in the Côtes-d'Armor region, the Grande Maison stands out with the haughty restraint that characterises the best 18th-century Breton bourgeois architecture. Now occupied by the Public Treasury, it retains the nobility of its granite facades, offering visitors a lesson in architectural elegance that time seems to have done little to alter. What makes this building truly unique is its central overmantel - a rare architectural solution in Breton civil housing - which symmetrically divides the façade between two perfectly profiled entrance doors. This arrangement gives the building a dual identity, as if two mansions had come together under the same granite roof to form an urban front of exemplary coherence. The wide windows on the ground floor, whose jambs are joined by a circular transom, demonstrate a certain mastery of classical codes, sensitively adapted to the local vocabulary. Looking at the facade from the bottom to the top is like walking through a skilfully orchestrated architectural sequence: from the monumental portals to the original small timbers that still survive on the first floor, and ending with the pedimented dormers that crown the third storey. The one in the centre, dated 1728, anchors the building in history and marks the maturity of a project carried out at the crossroads of two centuries. Quintin, a ducal town since 1691, boasts an architectural heritage of unsuspected wealth. The Grande Maison is one of the finest examples, alongside the château of the Dukes of La Moussaye and the fine residences of the Grand-Rue. For heritage enthusiasts and photographers in search of new perspectives, the façade offers a near-perfect composition, especially in the low-angled morning light, which reveals the grain and warm colour of the local granite.
Architecture
The Grande Maison is a particularly well-preserved example of Breton bourgeois architecture from the first third of the 18th century, in which the classical French vocabulary - inherited from the Île-de-France region and disseminated through architectural treatises - blends with the local granite building tradition. The rigorously symmetrical façade is organised around a central overmantel that divides the elevation into two distinct bays, each with a dressed entrance door whose jambs end in a circular transom. This delicate detail, which breaks the sharp angle between the jambs and the arch, reveals an attention to architectural design that one would expect more in an urban mansion house than in a provincial house. The ground floor is dominated by the large bay windows, whose high, sober lines are reminiscent of Parisian models, while the first floor retains its precious original sashes - a rare example of 18th-century Breton joinery that gives the façade a warm visual texture. The building is crowned by a third storey with triangular pediment dormers, the central one of which, dated 1728, is the signature of the project. The whole structure is built in cut granite, a material that is ubiquitous in Quintinois construction, whose bluish-grey colour takes on shades ranging from slate blue to golden beige, depending on the light. The natural robustness of the material gives the building an imposing physical presence, despite the relative sobriety of its decoration.
Related Figures
Louis XIV — roi ayant signé en 1691 l'édit érigeant Quintin en duché, impulsion décisive au développement urbain qui favorisa la construction de la Grande MaisonDucs de La Moussaye — famille ducale dont le titre et le prestige contribuèrent à l'essor architectural et économique de Quintin au tournant du XVIIIe siècleCommanditaire anonyme de 1728 — probable négociant en toiles ou officier royal, commanditaire de l'édifice dont l'identité reste à établir par les archives départementales
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is La Grande Maison, actuellement Trésor Public located?
La Grande Maison, actuellement Trésor Public is located in Quintin, Département 22 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was La Grande Maison, actuellement Trésor Public built?
La Grande Maison, actuellement Trésor Public dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is La Grande Maison, actuellement Trésor Public open to visitors?
La Grande Maison, actuellement Trésor Public is currently closed to visitors.