A painting in Blois

Yesterday afternoon after lunch, we drove up to Blois to see the château there. CHM, who is visiting from Paris (but who lives in the U.S. most of the time) learned from a cousin earlier this year that a painting depicting Joan of Arc at Blois in 1429 — and painted by CHM's grandfather in 1901 — hangs in the chapel at the château.

An archtectural detail at the Blois castle

Blois is an old royal town that played a central role in French history for many centuries. The most powerful counts of Blois, in the Middle Ages, were grandchildren and great-grandchildren of William the Bastard — a.k.a William the Conqueror — after he defeated the English in the Battle of Hastings in 1066. At least one, Etienne (King Stephen in English), became king of England in 1135.

The Louis XII wing at the château de Blois

King Louis XII of France was born in Blois in 1462. He had a "new" wing built onto the château there — the earliest existing sections and buildings at the château date back to the 1100s. Then François 1er, the mastermind behind the nearby Château de Chambord, took up residence in Blois in the early 1500s and had another major wing constructed, in Italianate style. Finally, in the 1600s, a third big wing was built, in French Classical style.

François 1er's wing includes this famous staircase
dating back to the 1500s

So it's a long history. CHM's grandfather, who was a painter in Paris in the 1800s, finished the painting of Joan of Arc at Blois just a few years before he passed away. The family donated the painting to the city of Blois, and now it hangs in the chapel on the grounds of the château. That's what we went to see yesterday. It had been 53 years since CHM last laid eyes on his grandfather's painting.

Above: CHM's grandfather's painting on a wall in the chapel at Blois

Below: my photo of the painting modified to correct the perspective

Blois is only 25 miles north of Saint-Aignan. It takes 40 minutes or so to drive up there. While we were in the château, a big group of Americans came in. They were probably on a bus tour. It was interesting to listen to their English, which was definitely Southern.

The St-Nicolas church (ca. 1200) and the Loire River at Blois

As we were leaving the château, a 60-year-old American — obviously American because dressed in bermuda shorts — arrived at the door just as we did. CHM stepped back and let the man go through first. "Age before beauty," CHM said as he passed. The man looked surprised and then laughed at the joke. I don't think he expected to be spoken to in English.