Malouinière de Rivasselou
MonumentHidden Treasure
Malouinière de Rivasselou, located in Saint-Malo (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
- Saint-Malo, Département 35, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 48.6554, -1.9856
- Mérimée Reference
- PA35000012
Joyau de l'aristocratie malouine, la malouinière de Rivasselou incarne avec rigueur l'élégance sobre du XVIIIe siècle finissant : symétrie parfaite, lambris Louis XVI d'origine et jardin clos à la française.
History
Just a stone's throw from the ramparts of Saint-Malo, the Rivasselou malouinière stands out as one of the most accomplished examples of an architectural type unique to Rising Sun Brittany: the malouinière. These pleasure homes, built by shipowners and privateers enriched by maritime trade and racing, are a unique heritage in France, born of the fortune of the open sea and the ambition of families who wanted to show off their success on dry land. Built in 1789, on the eve of an upheaval that was to change the face of the country, Rivasselou bears witness to an aristocratic way of life that had reached its apogee. Its canonical layout - a central body framed by two slightly raised pavilions, a courtyard of honour strictly separated from the pleasure garden by a boundary wall - reflects a logic of social representation as much as an aesthetic ideal. Here, everything is a matter of proportion and measure. What sets Rivasselou apart from its Malouin counterparts is the remarkable quality of its preserved interiors. The Louis XVI panelling on the ground floor, carved with a delicacy characteristic of the style of the late Ancien Régime, has survived more than two centuries without losing its nobility. With its fine mouldings, soberly ornamented panelling and lightly patinated white woodwork, it exudes the hushed atmosphere of the salons where the great maritime affairs of the corsair town were transacted. The garden, carefully separated from the service courtyard, offers a discreet and orderly setting of greenery, in the tradition of Breton walled gardens. Unlike the grand residences of the court nobility, the malouinière does not display any ostentatious decoration on its façade - its distinction lies in the perfection of its volumes and the rigour of its alignments. This is the architecture of serious people, who prefer quality to pomp. Listed as a Historic Monument in 2000, Rivasselou remains a jealously guarded private property, giving it a rare authenticity. It will appeal above all to lovers of 18th-century civil architecture, maritime history enthusiasts and anyone looking for an intimate encounter with Brittany's most authentic heritage, away from the tourist crowds.
Architecture
The Rivasselou malouinière illustrates with exemplary fidelity the principles of the malouinière architectural type, as it crystallised at the turn of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The U-shaped plan, opening onto the main courtyard, with a higher central body flanked by two slightly lower pavilions, gives the building a perfectly symmetrical silhouette on both sides. The sober elevation, with no sculpted ornamentation on the façade and no exuberant decoration, is typical of a regional architectural movement that made the purity of its volumes its main aesthetic virtue - a far cry from the splendour of Versailles, but not without elegance. The materials used are undoubtedly those found in all the great Malouinières of the region: the blue-grey granite of the Malouin region, precision-cut for the window frames and corner chains, and the steeply pitched roofs covered in Breton slate, adapted to the sea winds and heavy rain of the coast. The evenly-spaced small-wood windows punctuate the façades and contribute to the harmony of the proportions. The interior is Rivasselou's real surprise: the Louis XVI panelling on the ground floor, untouched since it was installed in 1789, is a decorative ensemble of the highest quality. This carved panelling, framed by fine mouldings and originally painted or gilded in the Louis XVI style, adorns the drawing room and dining room - the two main rooms in the main building. The exceptional conservation of these pieces demonstrates the skills of Breton joiners and woodcarvers at the end of the Ancien Régime, who were able to assimilate the neoclassical vocabulary while adapting it to suit local tastes.
Related Figures
Propriétaire bâtisseur anonyme de 1789 — vraisemblablement un armateur ou négociant malouin ayant fait fortune dans le commerce maritimeRené Duguay-Trouin (1673-1736) — corsaire malouin emblématique dont l'enrichissement illustre le contexte socio-économique ayant engendré les malouinièresRobert Surcouf (1773-1827) — armateur corsaire malouin, figure de proue d'une bourgeoisie maritime qui fit bâtir les plus belles malouinières de la régionFrançois-René de Chateaubriand (1768-1848) — natif de Saint-Malo, contemporain de la construction de Rivasselou, il décrit dans ses Mémoires d'Outre-Tombe l'atmosphère des demeures et paysages malouinsInspecteurs des Monuments Historiques (2000) — décideurs de l'inscription patrimoniale ayant officiellement reconnu la valeur de Rivasselou
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Malouinière de Rivasselou located?
Malouinière de Rivasselou is located in Saint-Malo, Département 35 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Malouinière de Rivasselou built?
Malouinière de Rivasselou dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Malouinière de Rivasselou open to visitors?
Malouinière de Rivasselou is currently closed to visitors.
