Logis Barrault
MonumentHidden Treasure
Logis Barrault, located in Angers (Maine-et-Loire), 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
- Angers, Maine-et-Loire, Pays de la Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.4691, -0.5548
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00108909
A jewel of Anjou's flamboyant Gothic style, the Logis Barrault stands with its turrets and sculpted dormer windows in the heart of Angers. Built at the end of the 15th century, this exceptional urban manor house now houses the city's Museum of Fine Arts.
History
Tucked away amongst the cobbled streets of the old centre of Angers, the Logis Barrault stands as one of the finest examples of Flamboyant Gothic civic architecture in the Val de Loire. Built during the last quarter of the fifteenth century, this substantial private mansion combines the austere rigour of local slate schist with the decorative virtuosity characteristic of the late Middle Ages. Its finely crafted elevation, sculpted gabled dormers, and corbelled corner turrets make it a building of the foremost importance within the heritage of Angers. What makes the Logis Barrault truly singular is the perfect coherence of its urban architecture: unlike the châteaux along the banks of the Loire, it embodies the opulence of a merchant bourgeoisie and royal officers who, at the turn of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, vied with the nobility in elegance. The street-facing façade displays a subtle interplay of mullioned windows, moulded string courses, and heraldic details that bear witness to the social standing of its patrons. The visitor experience today combines architectural heritage with artistic collections, as the logis houses the musée des Beaux-Arts d'Angers. Visitors are thus able to move through rooms with exposed beamed ceilings and monumental fireplaces, whilst discovering works ranging from medieval painting to nineteenth-century art. The interior spiral staircase, whose banisters bear delicate sculptures, is in itself a highlight of the visit. The surrounding setting enhances the atmosphere: the Logis Barrault is located just a short distance from the cathédrale Saint-Maurice and the château des ducs d'Anjou, within an exceptionally well-preserved historic area. Come evening, when the lighting accentuates the relief work of the façade, the building reveals an evocative power that the centuries have done nothing to diminish.
Architecture
The Logis Barrault belongs to the vocabulary of late Flamboyant Gothic, at the crossroads of influences from the Val de Loire and Normandie. The principal façade, built in slate schist with corner quoins and window surrounds in white tuffeau — the dressed stone typical of the Angevin region — offers that dark and light chromatic contrast so characteristic of mediaeval Angevin architecture. The windows with two or three mullions, topped with ogee arches or fine prismatic mouldings, punctuate the elevation with a studied regularity. The dormers at roof level constitute the most spectacular ornament of the building: their gables are decorated with finials, crockets, and small sculpted figures characteristic of late Gothic. The corbelled stair turrets, with their conical roofs covered in slates, articulate the corners of the composition and are reminiscent of the aesthetic of the contemporary châteaux of the Loire. Inside, the great halls retain chimney pieces with sculpted hoods, painted beams, and a spiral staircase whose central newel in tuffeau bears motifs of foliage and interlacing of great fineness of execution. The ground plan, organised around a principal main body flanked by outbuildings and an inner courtyard, reflects the typical arrangements of the great bourgeois residences of the late fifteenth century: separation of reception spaces from private spaces, a vaulted cellar below ground for provisions and wine, and attic rooms fitted out for the servants. The ensemble reveals an undeniable architectural mastery, worthy of the finest civil building works of the Loire during the era of the last Valois.
Related Figures
Olivier Barrault — trésorier et receveur général des finances du duché d'Anjou, commanditaire du logis vers 1485-1495René d'Anjou — duc d'Anjou et roi de Sicile, dont la cour brillante influença profondément l'architecture civile angevineLouis XI — roi de France qui réunit l'Anjou à la couronne en 1480, dans le contexte duquel le logis fut édifiéCharles VIII — roi de France dont le règne (1483-1498) correspond à la pleine floraison du gothique flamboyant en AnjouLes architectes et tailleurs de pierre angevins anonymes — maîtres d'œuvre locaux formés aux chantiers de la cathédrale Saint-Maurice et du château d'Angers
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Logis Barrault located?
Logis Barrault is located in Angers, Maine-et-Loire department, Pays de la Loire region, France.
When was Logis Barrault built?
Logis Barrault dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Logis Barrault open to visitors?
Logis Barrault is currently closed to visitors.