Maison à pans de bois
MonumentHidden Treasure
Maison à pans de bois, located in Sainte-Foy-la-Grande (Gironde), 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
- Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 44.8421, 0.2178
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00083821
At the heart of Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, this 15th-century timber-framed house captivates with its jettied façades and its beams carved with enigmatic figures — a naked man, a hybrid creature, a kneeling woman.
History
Nestling in the medieval streets of Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, this timber-framed house is one of the most eloquent examples of Gothic civil architecture in the Gironde. Its distinctive silhouette, with the upper storeys gradually jutting out into the street, reminds passers-by that this bastide town, founded in the 13th century, was for many years a prosperous trading centre, where the ostentation of the façade was a social signature. What radically sets this residence apart from its regional counterparts is the exceptional quality of its carpentry. The large corner beams and window jambs are more than just structural elements: they constitute a veritable iconographic programme, inhabited by strikingly expressive sculpted figures - a deliberately mutilated naked man accompanied by a dog, a creature with a human head whose base forms a niche, a woman in a pleated dress kneeling in a devotional posture, and an angel on a cul-de-lampe. This gallery of stone and wood questions as much as it decorates. The experience of visiting is akin to deciphering. Raising your eyes to the carved wooden bands, identifying each figure in its niche, trying to decipher its symbolic meaning - moralizing, religious or secular - engages reflection that goes beyond simple aesthetic contemplation. The golden light of the Périgord region of Bordeaux in the late afternoon reveals the depths of the relief with particular clarity. The setting of Sainte-Foy-la-Grande amplifies the charm of the place. This 13th-century royal bastide, founded on the banks of the Dordogne, retains its original grid layout and several remarkable medieval facades, of which this is the most complete. The timber-framed house is a natural part of an urban heritage trail that combines architecture, Protestant history and the wine-growing landscape.
Architecture
The architecture of this house is based on a structural principle typical of medieval timber-framed civil construction: a massive ground floor, probably used for commercial or craft purposes, topped by two successive corbelled storeys. Each level protrudes from the previous one, resting on a carved wooden fascia that runs horizontally along the entire façade. This arrangement, which is both functional (to gain living space on the upper floors) and aesthetic (to create a rising architectural rhythm), is characteristic of late Gothic architecture in an urban setting. The most remarkable feature is the sculpted decoration on the corner beams and window jambs. The windows, formerly with stone or wooden mullions in the Gothic tradition, have had their jambs adorned with finely worked sculpted motifs. At the corners and between the openings, three large beams each bear a high-relief figure of unusual plastic quality for folk art: a naked man with a mutilated body and a dog at the base, a creature with a human head whose beam foot forms a niche, and a woman in a pleated dress kneeling in a devotional attitude. An angel in a cul-de-lampe completes this iconographic ensemble, the symbolic coherence of which is still debated. The ensemble reveals the technical mastery of a high-level carpentry-sculpture workshop, which undoubtedly travelled between towns on the Dordogne and Garonne rivers. The wood used, probably local oak, was treated and carved before assembly, and then installed using medieval pegged-joint carpentry techniques. The quality of the conservation of the reliefs, despite five centuries of exposure, bears witness to the density of the material and the care given to the building over time.
Related Figures
Alphonse de Poitiers — fondateur de la bastide de Sainte-Foy-la-Grande en 1255Clément Marot — poète réformateur, natif de la région, figure emblématique du protestantisme local au XVIe siècleCommanditaire bourgeois anonyme — riche marchand ou officier du XVe siècle à l'origine du programme sculptéCharpentier-sculpteur anonyme — artisan de haute compétence ayant réalisé les figures des poutres d'angleInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (1955) — responsables de la reconnaissance et de la protection de l'édifice
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maison à pans de bois located?
Maison à pans de bois is located in Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, Gironde department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, France.
When was Maison à pans de bois built?
Maison à pans de bois dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Maison à pans de bois open to visitors?
Maison à pans de bois is currently closed to visitors.