Cycles of rebirth

AT THE TIME OF LOUIS XIV, THE KING’S CHIEF ARCHITECT MADE IT INTO A DREAM PALACE. TODAY, AFTER A PERIOD OF NEGLECT, IT IS READY FOR A GLORIOUS REBIRTH.

Château de Dampierre is full of echoes of the glorious French past, portrayed in statues and frescos. The key date in this story is 1675, with the Baroque era in full swing. Jules Hardouin-Mansart, nephew of François Mansart, one of the greatest architects of all time, inventor of the mansard, was called in to give the residence a modern tone, reflecting current tastes. The first nucleus of the structure dated back to the 13th century, when it was one of the most prestigious residences in the zone of Damp

and in all of Île-de-France. Though severely damaged by fire, the castle was repeatedly rebuilt and renovated. In the 16th century it was owned by Jean Duval, treasurer of Francis I, who added annexes, turrets, new pavilions. Which brings us back to 1675, a few years before the construction of Versailles, when Jules Hardouin-Mansart developed a complex project, expanding and raising the main volume: the residence took on an elegant air, a silhouette that could rival the nearby glory of Versailles. The best decorators were summoned for the interiors, including Bernard Toro, one of the greatest cabinetmakers of the time of Louis XIV, who did the paneling in the dining room, and the sculptor David Bertrand, who in 1688 made fireplaces decorated in stucco, referencing the Italian Renaissance. Further renovation in the 1700s brought an orangerie and an external staircase spanning the moat. In 1839 the duke Honoré Théodoric d’Albert de Luynes, an archaeologist, asked the architect Félix Duban to carry out yet another phase of modernization. On this occasion Ingres was commissioned to make two large paintings: L’Age d’Or and L’Age de Fer. The first was done in 1848 and left unfinished, while the other was merely sketched. Finally, from 1844 to 1855 Henri Duponchel and Pierre-Charles Simart made a reproduction of the chryselephantine statue sculpted by Phidias for the Parthenon. Today Château de Dampierre enters a new phase. The present owner has called on Pierre Peyrolle, artist, collector and expert on the Baroque, to renovate the interiors. About twenty rooms will be involved, as well as the restoration of the garden originally designed by André Le Nôtre.