14 June 2021

Montpoupon : le châtelet

The « châtelet » (“little château”), which is the building that serves as the main entry gate of the Montpoupon grounds, has undergone a major restoration over the past year. An article in the regional Nouvelle République newspaper says it's the biggest restoration project at Montpoupon in more than a century. Restoration was supposed to take 6 months, but work was delayed slightly by the recent (and ongoing) crise sanitaire. At last report, the scaffolding erected all around the building was being taken down in May. I'll have to drive over there soon and see what it looks like.






The châtelet was built around the year 1520. In the 19th century, its top floor was turned into a chapel and the floor below it was made into a library. I've never been inside so I look forward to seeing it all restored and refurbished. Here's a YouTube video about the restoration work, featuring the owner of the château, who says the 500-year-old building was in desperate need of repairs and restoration.

10 comments:

  1. I'm sorry my hearing loss prevented me to hear what M. de Louvencourt had to say about his chateau's chatelet.
    On the last photo, a worker is working on a putto. It's not what BettyAnnn had in mind. It was mascarrons, like the ones all around the Chapelle-St.-Jean-du-Liget.

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    1. Les putti sont-ils ailés ?

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    2. Putti (singular, putto) are very young and small male children with or without wings (see angelots in French).

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  2. Sais-tu que tu peux passer les vidéos YouTube avec des sous-titres? Clique sur l'icône CC en bas à droite.

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    Replies
    1. Non, je ne savais pas. Je vais essayer.

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  3. "Il y a vraiment le feu au lac", ça, c'est une expression que je ne connaissais pas :)
    Judy

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  4. I wonder if they're replacing a missing putto with a new one...on Google maps, you can land in front of the chateau. It also indicates there is an antique store inside the chatelet called La Cymaise, which there seems to be no translation for. The chatelet is very attractive and looks like it would make a nice size home itself.

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    1. Hi, D.
      Here is what Wikipédia French says about the owner of the chateau:
      Amaury de Louvencourt est un expert en œuvres d'art, qui tenait la galerie de la Cymaise à Paris. Il est notamment à l'origine du musée du veneur dans le château de Montpoupon, créé en 1995[1]. Il s'intéresse particulièrement au cheval dans l'art.
      And now a définition of Cimaise:
      Definitions from Dictionnaires Le Robert
      cimaise
      nom féminin
      1.
      Moulure qui forme la partie supérieure d'une corniche.
      2.
      Moulure à hauteur d'appui ; spécialement pour accrocher des tableaux.

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  5. Have you been watching Lupin? I thought this last series was the end, but not so. Maybe some of it will be set in the Loire Valley next, who knows?

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