Maison du 16e siècle dite Maison du Soleil
MonumentHidden Treasure
Maison du 16e siècle dite Maison du Soleil, located in La Ferté-Beauharnais (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
- La Ferté-Beauharnais, Loir-et-Cher, Centre-Val de Loire
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.5426, 1.8492
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00098435
In La Ferté-Beauharnais, this 16th-century timber-framed house is striking for its capitals carved with recessed figures and its twisted frieze - a discreet Renaissance gem in the heart of the Sologne.
© Wikimedia Commons
History
Nestling in the village of La Ferté-Beauharnais, in the heart of the Sologne region, the Maison du Soleil is one of those popular Renaissance homes that bear witness to a craftsmanship that is often overshadowed by the splendour of the châteaux of the Loire Valley. And yet, just a few kilometres from the great royal residences, local master carpenters developed a remarkably fine art of wood construction. Built in the 16th century, this timber-framed house reveals carved ornamentation of a rare quality for this type of dwelling. What makes the Maison du Soleil truly unique is the coherence of its decorative programme. The corner posts and intermediate uprights are more than just structural elements: they are hollowed out with flutes and topped with capitals in wood carved in the style of Antiquity, featuring strikingly expressive recessed figures. The cornice, supported by capitals and brackets, is adorned with large twists and prismatic mouldings that fall onto small corbel heads - an ornamental vocabulary combining late Gothic influences and early Renaissance intuitions. The attic floor, with its series of Saint Andrew's crosses between which flat-laid or "fern-like" bricks slide, offers a graphic and rhythmic effect characteristic of 16th-century Sologne, where red brick and dark wood form diagonals that catch the light at any time of day. A special console, adorned with a statuette of the Virgin Mary, lends the whole a discreet but touching devotional dimension, a sign that its patrons, wealthy townsfolk, considered their faith to be an integral part of their social representation. To visit the Maison du Soleil is to take a break from the beaten track, in a village whose name is forever linked to the Beauharnais family. The building stands on its street frontage, offering the attentive walker an intimate dialogue between the stone of the foundations and the sophisticated design of its exposed framework. The peaceful atmosphere of the Sologne village, with its ponds and pine and oak forests, is an ideal setting for a heritage walk off the beaten track.
Architecture
The Maison du Soleil is a timber-framed house, a construction technique that was dominant in the civil buildings of Sologne and Touraine in the 16th century. Its structure is based on a framework of vertical oak uprights, between which are inserted brick infills, sometimes laid flat, sometimes in "ferns" - i.e. alternating herringbone - creating a particularly decorative interplay of textures and geometric patterns. The foundations are probably made of local limestone masonry, providing a durable base for the timber structure. The great originality of this residence lies in the richness of its ornamental vocabulary. The corner posts and intermediate posts on the façade are treated as genuine architectural elements: hollowed out with flutes reminiscent of ancient columns brought up to date by the Renaissance, they are topped with carved wooden capitals with large cubic scrolls featuring recessed figures - an iconographic treatment rare in the region's timber-framed architecture. Carved brackets, one of which bears a statuette of the Virgin Mary, support the cornice, which is the most sumptuous feature of the façade: a large twist runs the length of the cornice, punctuated by prismatic mouldings falling on small corbel-shaped heads, blending a late Gothic repertoire - the prismatic mouldings - with early Renaissance forms. The attic storey, crowned by a steeply pitched roof probably covered in flat tiles or slate as is customary in the Sologne region, is punctuated by a series of Saint Andrew's crosses formed by the lattice braces, the triangles of which are filled in with flat-laid bricks. This floor, which is purely decorative in its treatment of the façade, gives the building its characteristic graphic silhouette.
Related Figures
Commanditaire inconnu du XVIe siècle — probable marchand ou officier seigneurial du bourg, initiateur du programme sculpturalMaître-charpentier solognot anonyme — auteur présumé des sculptures sur bois et de la conception de la façadeAlexandre de Beauharnais — noble lié à la famille propriétaire du château voisin, dont la renommée rejaillit sur le bourgJoséphine de Beauharnais — impératrice des Français, dont la famille donna son nom à La Ferté-BeauharnaisResponsables de l'Inventaire des Monuments Historiques — auteurs de l'arrêté de protection du 6 janvier 1926
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maison du 16e siècle dite Maison du Soleil located?
Maison du 16e siècle dite Maison du Soleil is located in La Ferté-Beauharnais, Loir-et-Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire region, France.
When was Maison du 16e siècle dite Maison du Soleil built?
Maison du 16e siècle dite Maison du Soleil dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Maison du 16e siècle dite Maison du Soleil open to visitors?
Maison du 16e siècle dite Maison du Soleil is currently closed to visitors.