Par
Geoffrey Faucheux
Published on
Nov. 24, 2024 at 3:02 p.m.
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In 2027, the gallery of Chabouille house will be 500 years old. Hidden behind the town hall of Moret-Loing-et-Orvanne, this architectural gem built in 1527 surprises and impresses with its beauty, its decor full of details and its incredible story. If this exceptional building can be compared to a facade, it is in fact a galerie from a residence built for a financial officer of the king François Iis (who reigned from 1515 until his death in 1547), named after Nicolas Chabouillé.
“A major monument of the Renaissance”
“It is a major monument of the Renaissance. But this gallery was not built on the location where it is today, explains thus Claude-Clément Perrotguide at the Moret Seine & Loing tourist office and president of the medieval and archaeological research and documentation center of Saint-Mammès. It connected the two buildings which made up Nicolas Chabouillé's house, located on Passage Zanaroff, on the edge of Rue Grande,” he explains.
After the death of Nicolas Chabouillé, in 1542, his property was divided up over the centuries before arriving in the hands of a man named Colson around 1820: “He’s a cooper and art isn’t really his thing. In particular, he will close all the openings and make this house a sort of workshop,” says Claude-Clément Perrot.
Property of Napoleon's sister's lover
Fortunately, before other misfortunes come to deprive this sumptuous residence of its original beauty, it will be “saved” by Fortunate of Brack.
“He is a young cavalry officer who arrived at the military school of Fontainebleau in 1806. He is said to be handsome and a little effeminate. He will first be the lover of Pauline Borghese BonaparteNapoleon's sister, before becoming the lover of Miss Marsgreat tragedienne of the time, favorite actress of Napoleon. The rich couple is also part of a company of shareholders which will urbanize part of the Champs-Elysées,” explains this fine connoisseur of Moretan history.
Colonel de Brack, who knew this gallery, then decided to buy it to make the facade of his Parisian house. Dismantled stone by stone, this jewel of 16th century architecturee century will be reassembled in the same way in Paris in 1826.
Finally, the two lovers separated before even inhabiting this house: “The house then passed through the hands of different owners until belonging, in 1955, to the family of the Count of Ussel“, continues Claude-Clément Perrot.
Architectural details
The gallery of the Chabouillé house has three large arcades topped by a closed gallery, with an annex containing a staircase. The sculptures, of high quality, were probably created by the greatest artists of the time. Among the motifs, some are Italian-inspired, others represent the labors of Hercules or Roman deities such as Neptune, Atlas, Aeolus or even Vulcan. In the upper part, we see a Latin motto that we owe to Epictetus and which translates as: “He who knows how to restrain his tongue and tame his senses is stronger than he who takes cities”. Finally, we find the motif of the salamander, emblem of François I. Note that medallions of François II, Henri II and even Diane de Poitiers were added in the 19th century.
Return to Moret
Deciding to build office buildings on the site of this house, the family chose to destroy the building, but not without preserving the gallery: “They are going to put a clause in the contract indicating that the gallery must return to Moret at the expense of the developer and be reinstalled at the expense of the town hall,” he adds.
However, unable to return it to the place where it had been built, the municipality at the time decided to have this gallery installed in the town hall courtyard in 1956, where it is still located today.
“You should know that the gallery was much more beautiful at the time than it is now, because it has been extensively modified through time. For example, the smooth wall located in the lower part of the building was once decorated witharabesques. Even today, there are still pieces of this wall in the garden of the Lesage house (located in rue Grande de Moret, editor’s note),” concludes Claude-Clément Perrot.
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