Maison du 16e siècle, dite Maison du Guesclin
MonumentHidden Treasure
Maison du 16e siècle, dite Maison du Guesclin, located in Rennes (Département 35), 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
- Rennes, Département 35, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.1119, -1.6830
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00090743
A jewel of medieval Rennes, the three-storey Maison du Guesclin stands corbelled on the street, adorned with wood-carved statues of Saint-Michel and Saint-Sébastien - a rare masterpiece of 16th-century Breton civil architecture.
History
In the heart of old Rennes, the Maison du Guesclin stands out as one of the most eloquent examples of Renaissance Breton domestic architecture. Its timber-framed facade, punctuated by three progressively corbelled storeys, rises up from the street like a fragment of medieval town, miraculously preserved in a city that nonetheless suffered one of the most devastating fires in its history. What sets this residence apart from the many half-timbered houses in the region is the exceptional quality of its sculpted ornamentation. Posts, brackets and runners are carved with a meticulousness that goes beyond simple craftsmanship to achieve true artistic expression. The plant forms, geometric motifs and allegorical figures that run across the structure bear witness to a first-rate carpenter-sculptor workshop, probably active in Rennes in the first third of the 16th century. The centrepiece remains the group of statues housed under the corbelling on the first floor: two wooden figures representing Saint-Michel slaying the dragon and Saint-Sébastien pierced by arrows. These two patron saints, omnipresent in Breton devotion at the time, give the house an almost sacred character, reminding us that the boundary between private space and public piety was very porous in the Renaissance. A visit to the façade, freely accessible from the street, offers passers-by a condensed history lesson. Photographers and architectural enthusiasts will find it an inexhaustible source of detail, while local history buffs will be able to read in the background the prosperity of Rennes' burghers during the age of great discoveries. Today, the house is an integral part of the city's living fabric, surrounded by other half-timbered houses that together form the authentic setting of old Rennes.
Architecture
The Maison du Guesclin is a timber-framed residence typical of early 16th-century Breton civil architecture. Its elevation consists of a massive ground floor topped by three successive corbelled storeys, each level projecting slightly over the previous one, using a technique that maximised living space while protecting the lower façades from rainwater. This method, common in medieval Breton and Norman towns, gives the house its characteristic silhouette, leaning slightly towards the street as if to watch passers-by. The decorative richness of the façade is its major asset. The corner posts and infill posts are adorned with profiled mouldings and low-relief sculptures combining plant motifs, knotwork and anthropomorphic figures, demonstrating an ornamental vocabulary at the crossroads between late flamboyant Gothic and early Renaissance influences from Italy via the Loire. The runners - horizontal pieces of wood linking the storeys - and the brackets supporting each corbel receive the same meticulous treatment, transforming the load-bearing structure into a support for a coherent iconographic programme. The highlight of this sculpted ensemble remains the two wooden statues placed under the corbel on the first floor: Saint-Michel, depicted in armour slaying the dragon, and Saint-Sébastien, tied to a post and pierced by arrows. These figures in the round, remarkably well-crafted for urban folk art, illustrate the devotion of their patrons and serve as a reminder that in the 16th century, woodcarving in Rennes reached a level of quality comparable to that of the most famous workshops in the region.
Related Figures
Bertrand du Guesclin — connétable de France (v. 1320-1380), dont le nom est associé par tradition populaire à cette demeureArtisans charpentiers-sculpteurs rennais du XVIe siècle — auteurs anonymes de la remarquable décoration sculptéeBourgeoisie marchande rennaise — commanditaires présumés de la maison, enrichis par le commerce et les offices royaux après l'union de la Bretagne à la France (1532)Membres de la Société archéologique d'Ille-et-Vilaine — érudits du XIXe siècle ayant contribué à la reconnaissance et à la protection du monument
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maison du 16e siècle, dite Maison du Guesclin located?
Maison du 16e siècle, dite Maison du Guesclin is located in Rennes, Département 35 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Maison du 16e siècle, dite Maison du Guesclin built?
Maison du 16e siècle, dite Maison du Guesclin dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Maison du 16e siècle, dite Maison du Guesclin open to visitors?
Maison du 16e siècle, dite Maison du Guesclin is currently closed to visitors.