Maison du 15e siècle dite Maison Saint-Martin
MonumentHidden Treasure
Maison du 15e siècle dite Maison Saint-Martin, located in Vendôme (Loir-et-Cher), 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
- Vendôme, Loir-et-Cher, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.7918, 1.0674
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00098645
A masterpiece of Vendôme timber-framed architecture, this late 15th-century house boasts a sculpted façade in which Saint Louis, Saint John the Baptist and Saint Martin converse between superimposed corbels of rare elegance.
© Wikimedia Commons
History
In the heart of Vendôme, a town with many medieval faces, the Maison Saint-Martin stands as an exceptional example of late medieval civil architecture. Its tall, three-storey silhouette crowned by a bold gable immediately catches the eye, while the richness of its wood carvings is surprisingly fine for a building designed for middle-class or merchant use. What really sets this residence apart is the remarkable coherence of its decorative programme. The links on the ground floor, hand-carved in wood that has acquired a patina over the centuries, represent four saints - Louis, John the Baptist, Nicholas and Martin - each identifiable by their traditional iconographic attributes. Saint-Louis proudly wears a coat of arms, a reminder of the royal devotion that still permeated the popular imagination at the end of the 15th century. This hagiographic bestiary carved into the roof timbers gives the façade an almost cathedral-like dimension, unusual for a town house. The visit is best enjoyed from the street, stepping back to take in the cascading effect of the successive corbels: each storey slightly overhangs the one below, creating an ascending rhythm that once culminated in the gable peak. The moulded profiles of the posts, crossbeams, runners and ties on the first and second storeys bear witness to an aesthetic concern that goes beyond mere structural utility. The exposed brick infill between the half-timbering enlivens the façade with a warm, lively play of textures and colours. The old quarter of Vendôme, which boasts a number of other medieval and Renaissance residences, is an ideal place to extend your stroll. The town, with the River Loir running through it and the remains of its château comtal towering above it, invites you to take a stroll through the centuries. The Maison Saint-Martin is one of the town's finest listed monuments, just a stone's throw from the Trinité abbey, another jewel in the crown of Vendôme's heritage.
Architecture
The Maison Saint-Martin is an accomplished example of late medieval timber-framed architecture in the Loire Valley. Its elevation comprises a ground floor, two upper floors and a gable, giving a total height that is particularly striking for a town house. The facades are organised according to a logic of successive corbelling: the first storey overhangs the ground floor, the second overhangs the first, creating the overhanging silhouette characteristic of medieval half-timbered houses, which made it possible both to increase the living space on the upper floors and to provide partial shelter for pedestrians below. The framework forms the core of the building. At gable level, the external truss is highlighted by projecting jambs and gable ends supported by ties - a structural device skilfully transformed into an ornamental motif. On the first two storeys, all the elements of the timber structure - vertical posts, horizontal crossbeams, runners and diagonal ties - are carefully moulded according to profiles that specialists in medieval carpentry associate with the transition between the Gothic and early Renaissance periods, around 1490-1520. The gaps between the wooden elements are filled with exposed brick, a material that was both economical and decorative, and common in Loire buildings of the period. The masterpiece is undoubtedly the sculpted programme on the ground floor, where the links - the triangular pieces of wood connecting the uprights to the crosspieces - are transformed into veritable hagiographic reliefs. Saint Louis with his coat of arms, Saint John the Baptist, Saint Nicholas and Saint Martin are depicted in a style that is still rooted in the Gothic tradition, with attention paid to the iconographic attributes that enable the characters to be identified. The quality of execution of these sculptures indicates that they were made by a talented carpenter-sculptor who was familiar with the workshops in the Touraine region.
Related Figures
Saint Martin de Tours — saint éponyme de la maison, évêque de Tours au IVe siècle, dont la figure est sculptée sur un lien du rez-de-chausséeSaint Louis (Louis IX) — roi de France canonisé en 1297, représenté portant un écusson parmi les sculptures de la façadeSaint Jean-Baptiste — figure biblique dont l'image orne l'un des liens sculptés du rez-de-chausséeSaint Nicolas de Myre — saint protecteur des marchands et voyageurs, représenté sur la façade, suggérant un lien avec le commanditaireLes comtes puis ducs de Vendôme — seigneurs de la ville sous l'égide desquels fut bâtie la maison, membres de la maison de Bourbon
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maison du 15e siècle dite Maison Saint-Martin located?
Maison du 15e siècle dite Maison Saint-Martin is located in Vendôme, Loir-et-Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
When was Maison du 15e siècle dite Maison Saint-Martin built?
Maison du 15e siècle dite Maison Saint-Martin dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Maison du 15e siècle dite Maison Saint-Martin open to visitors?
Maison du 15e siècle dite Maison Saint-Martin is currently closed to visitors.