Maison de Chartres
MonumentHidden Treasure
Maison de Chartres, located in Chartres (Eure-et-Loir), 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
- Chartres, Eure-et-Loir, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.4499, 1.4877
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00097005
In the heart of Chartres, this 16th-century Renaissance house is said to have welcomed Henri IV on the night of his coronation. Its painted woodwork, fireplace with carved pilasters and ornate beams bear witness to exceptional domestic art.
© Wikimedia Commons
History
Nestling in the medieval and Renaissance fabric of Chartres, this 16th-century civil residence is one of the rare urban houses in the city to have retained, at least in part, the intimate and refined atmosphere of the French Renaissance. Far from the castles and cathedrals that are usually the focus of attention, it belongs to that precious category of built heritage: bourgeois domestic architecture, whose survival is often a miracle in the face of the centuries and urban transformations. What makes this house truly unique is the so-called "Henry IV" bedroom - a space steeped in memory, where tradition and décor combine to evoke the France of the Wars of Religion and dynastic reconciliation. The painted beams and joists that run across the ceiling, the carefully shaped mouldings, and above all the majestic fireplace with its sculpted and painted pilasters, create an interior that is remarkably stylistically coherent for a provincial town house. Visiting the house is like immersing yourself in the everyday life of 16th-century aristocrats and middle-class citizens, far removed from the museum-style staging of the great royal châteaux. Here we get a sense of what life was like for a notable person from Chartres during the Renaissance: human proportions, cultivated décor, and a blend of mythological and religious references - as evidenced by the representations of Cephalus and Procris and Saint Paul that once adorned the fireplace and walls. The street-facing gable, with its three storeys punctuated by mouldings adorned with sculptures, is a fine example of Renaissance civil architecture in an urban setting. It's a discreet but skilful façade, in dialogue with the cobbled streets of the old town of Chartres, inviting visitors to look up. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1924, this house is an essential landmark for anyone interested in the history of Chartres beyond its cathedral. It is a reminder that the city of Eure was also a royal town, a political and cultural crossroads where the history of France was sometimes played out on the scale of a single room.
Architecture
Externally, the house stands out for its three-storey gable on the street, whose joists are adorned with sculpted mouldings - a vertical composition typical of French Renaissance civil architecture, reminiscent of the timber-framed and half-timbered houses found in many towns in the Paris Basin and the Loire Valley. This structured and decorated façade bears witness to a high level of local craftsmanship, without ostentation but with a measured elegance typical of 16th-century bourgeois architecture. The most significant features of the interior are still to be found in the main room: a ceiling with painted beams and joists, decorated with interlacing, foliage and geometric motifs typical of provincial Renaissance art. The fireplace, the centrepiece of the room, is framed by sculpted pilasters surmounted by an upright - an architectural vocabulary directly inspired by Roman Antiquity and reinterpreted by the Italian and then the French Renaissance. The sculpture and polychromy that animate it, even if partially altered, evoke the richness of a decorative programme designed to impress a high-ranking visitor. The mouldings, although sober, have carefully crafted profiles that reveal the hand of craftsmen trained in the canons of Renaissance art. The room as a whole forms a coherent interior, despite the later additions of panelling and hangings, and is one of the rare surviving examples of a civil Renaissance interior in Chartres.
Related Figures
Henri IV, roi de France, dont la tradition rapporte qu'il aurait séjourné dans cette demeure lors de son sacre à Chartres en 1594Gabrielle d'Estrées, favorite d'Henri IV, qui l'accompagnait lors du sacre chartrainRenaud de Beaune, archevêque de Bourges, qui officia au sacre d'Henri IV à Chartres le 27 février 1594Les artisans anonymes chartrains ou de la région, maîtres menuisiers et sculpteurs auteurs du décor Renaissance de la chambre
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maison de Chartres located?
Maison de Chartres is located in Chartres, Eure-et-Loir department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
When was Maison de Chartres built?
Maison de Chartres dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Maison de Chartres open to visitors?
Maison de Chartres is currently closed to visitors.
