Maison datée de 1666
MonumentHidden Treasure
Maison datée de 1666, located in Rochefort-en-Terre (Département 56), 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
- Rochefort-en-Terre, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.6996, -2.3369
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091641
A discreet jewel in the Morbihan region, this 1666 house captivates visitors with its rigorously symmetrical classical façade, prominent brackets and elegant pediment - a lesson in Louis XIV grace in the heart of Rochefort-en-Terre.
History
At the bend in a cobbled lane in Rochefort-en-Terre, one of Brittany's most beautiful villages, stands a middle-class house whose date engraved in stone - 1666 - is enough to tell the story of an era. Neither a château nor a manor house, but the home of a wealthy craftsman or prosperous merchant who chose to dress its façade in the codes of French classicism that triumphed under the reign of Louis XIV. A bold choice for a Breton town, and an architectural achievement that the centuries have not erased. The first thing that strikes you is the symmetrical rigour of the composition: a central basket-handle door, two rectangular cross windows on either side, pilasters that punctuate the verticality of the façade like miniature columns. The whole is crowned by a pediment that gives the whole an almost palatial dignity, which is astonishing on this scale. This is a far cry from medieval buildings made of cob and wood; here, stone expresses itself with confidence and mastery. The raised ground floor, accessible by a few steps, contributes to this display of social respectability. The protruding brackets that adorn the first floor, veritable sculptures in miniature, bear witness to the skills of the region's stonemasons. The single storey, with its window combined with an attic dormer, reflects an economy of means cleverly masked by the sophistication of the decoration. A visit to this house, which is listed as a Historic Monument, is like taking a step back in time, away from the spectacular reconstructions. The building can be admired from the street, in the changing light of the Morbihan, ideally during a stroll through the market town of Rochefort-en-Terre. The contrast between the Breton sobriety of the surroundings and the classical elegance of the facade is in itself a striking shortcut through history.
Architecture
The house built in 1666 belongs to the movement known as French Provincial Classicism, a movement which, from the middle of the 17th century onwards, spread to provincial towns and cities the principles of order, symmetry and hierarchy inherited from Antiquity and reinterpreted by Parisian architecture. The façade - the only element described in detail - is an exemplary small-scale example of this: the tripartite composition (central door flanked by two rectangular cross windows) obeys a logic of perfect symmetry, tempered by Breton discretion. The raised ground floor, accessed via a staircase, is slightly vertical, lending dignity to the whole. The basket-handle door - a flattened arch characteristic of the 17th century - is framed by meticulous mouldings. The pilasters that structure the facade are probably Tuscan or Doric, sober and without decorative excess. The protruding brackets that crown the first storey serve as an elegant transition to the upper storey, where a single window, combined with an attic dormer, elegantly solves the problem of lighting under the roofs. The pediment that crowns the whole - triangular or curvilinear in the classical tradition - gives this ordinary house the look of a small town house. The materials used are typical of Breton construction: local granite for the structure and frames, and natural slate for the roof. The combination of the grey-blue of the stone and the black of the slate gives the façade an austere elegance that is characteristic of classicism in Morbihan, where rendering and colour are dispensed with to achieve its own form of refinement.
Related Figures
Le commanditaire anonyme de 1666 — vraisemblablement un bourgeois local, marchand ou officier de justice, dont l'identité reste à établirLes tailleurs de pierre locaux — artisans bretons maîtrisant le travail du granite et les moulurations classiquesAlfred Klots — peintre américain qui contribua au renouveau artistique de Rochefort-en-Terre au début du XXe siècleLes inspecteurs des Monuments Historiques de 1932 — responsables de la protection précoce de l'édifice
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maison datée de 1666 located?
Maison datée de 1666 is located in Rochefort-en-Terre, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Maison datée de 1666 built?
Maison datée de 1666 dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Maison datée de 1666 open to visitors?
Maison datée de 1666 is currently closed to visitors.