History Visit Dual influence Information History Visit Dual influence Information History Visit Dual influence Information L L L English . 4 1

Glossary 0 Architecture and painting 2 l i r v a , a p i t Chareil-Cintrat S

The dual influence of Classicism Bucrane or bucranium : ornamental motif depicting n o i s s e

and Mannerism an ox skull. r p

m Château i .

Caryatid : statue representing a female figure serving e l z z u

P Amidst the vines as a vertical architectural support. n

From 1540 onwards architects started travelling to I n o

Honor, virtus et gloria i Italy to study the Ancient ruins. They took inspiration : honour, courage and glory. t c u d

Non nobis domine non nobis sed nomini tuo da gloriam a : r

from Classical architectural treatises as well as from t The château of Claude Morin . r e i t

the latest works on the subject. The facades of the Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy s e r o F

château combine the three Classical orders * placed name give glory. e n Standing at the foot of a vine-covered hill, è l é H

one above the other, each represented by a certain Order : with its proportions and ornamentations, -

e the château was originally i r a

sort of capital around the windows. On the ground this defines a style of building in Ancient and M

n one of the fiefs of the o i t

floor there is the Doric order, on the first floor the Classical architecture. a s

i Bourbon family. In the l a é

Ovid : Latin poet of the first century A.D., author of r

Ionic order, and on the second floor the Corinthian .

s mid-16th century it was r e

Metamorphoses d order. This principle of placing the orders one above the , a set of Greek and Oriental n Western facade

A acquired by Claude Morin, , s n e the other is repeated inside the building (with the legends written in poetic language. S Superintendent in Ordinary of the Wars. He had n i e l hearths of the fireplaces and the doors on Patera : a small, shallow, circular libation bowl. P

n a new building erected against the enclosure of o i t

the landings). Putto : figure of a chubby little cherub, putti in the p e the mediaeval castle, of which only the towers still c n o

plural. c . remain. In all probability his duties took him to Italy x u a

Mannerism n o

i where Ancient ruins and Italian Renaissance buildings t a Visitor information n s t

n may well have inspired certain decors. During the e m

Mannerism is the term applied to artistic works u n Wars of Religion, the Protestants laid siege to the o m

Average length of visit: 50 minutes. s created in Europe between 1515 and 1580, based e

d château but no damage was done to the building. e r t

on a rejection of the Classicism and Naturalism of Guided tours in French. n

e The château passed into the hands of the Monamy C /

the first Renaissance. The decors at Chareil present e r family by marriage, before being inherited by the t î a m

certain typical characteristics of Mannerism, with Centre des monuments nationaux e

L Langlois de Ramantière family. In 1815 it became l a

Château du Bas-Chareil c s

elongated bodies and serpentine shapes presenting a

P the property of the Thonnier family, and remained ©

figures from several different angles, and the 03140 Chareil-Cintrat s o so until 1923. The Schneider steelworks then t o

04 70 56 94 28 h mannered postures and fabulous creatures found tél. p

s acquired the château but never occupied it. t i d

in the grotesques. These grotesques were inspired é r www.monuments-nationaux.fr c by those discovered at Nero’s Domus Aurea in Rome, Unique decoration of which the buried remains resembled grottoes. In the 16th century artists incorporated fantastical The château was listed as a historic monument figures into these Classical models, giving rise to in 1958 when it was bought by the state. Major the pejorative meaning of the word “grotesque”. restoration works were undertaken, enabling part of its painted decoration to be revealed.

*Explanations overleaf. History Visit Dual influence Information L

Chareil château is remarkable for its interior N decoration, which is characteristic of the second ground floor first floor second floor phase of the French Renaissance. Classical influences are combined with references to Roman architecture 7 4 and the Mannerist style. The ground floor 1 6 5 9 10

1 The room houses a monumental fireplace. The lintel 3 2 8 is supported by columns and decorated with a Doric frieze with alternating ornamental bucranes * and patera *. The mantelpiece is ornamented with a The first scene shows the birth of Adonis. His mother The second floor caryatid * at either end and a central decoration Myrrha, half-woman and half-tree, is giving birth showing masks and putti * placed around the with the assistance of the goddess Lucina. The second 8 On the landing the capitals with acanthus leaves inscription “ honor, virtus et gloria ”*. scene depicts Adonis at rest in the arms of Venus. are in the Corinthian style. 2 The vaults in the vestibule , the ceilings of the 5 In the North room the myth is continued on the 9 and 10 Here there is access to the attics where the flights of stairs, and the walls on the landings are mantelpiece where Adonis, having been wounded upper roof timbers may be seen. They have been ornamented with a decor of grotesques. In the frieze by Mars metamorphosed into a wild boar, is dying restored but retain original elements dating from running along the bottom of the vault in the vestibule, in the arms of Venus. 1548 to 1552. an elegant hybrid figure may be seen, composed of 6 The room features a fireplace whose hearth is On leaving the château, the path follows the building the bust of a woman, the wings of a butterfly, and framed by pilasters doubled with columns and and then turns left at the far end of the courtyard. a corolla of flowers. topped by scrolled capitals typical of the Ionic style. The door leads to the vineyards of the conservatory 3 Along the central axis of the first flight of stairs The mantelpiece bears the inscription “ Non nobis for old vine varieties from the Chareil and there are three birds representing Roman divinities, domine non nobis sed nomini tuo da gloriam ”*, taken Saint-Pourçain regions. with the owl representing Minerva, the peacock Juno, from Psalm 115 of the Bible. and the eagle Jupiter. Along the edge of the flight, 7 The room has a vault ornamented by grotesques The conservatory for old vine varieties near the peacock and eagle is a misshapen, that encircle astrological decors placed within hermaphrodite figure. The whole flight is medallions. Each decor shows a planet represented In addition to enhancing the monument, the purpose decorated with objects, plants and so on. by a divinity, with for instance the sun in the centre, of the conservatory is to present traditional varieties symbolised by Apollo. The wheels of the chariots of vine (such as Romorantin, Melon, Saint-Pierre Doré, The first floor bearing the divinities contain the signs of the zodiac. and Gamay Fréault) and to teach skills and techniques On the mantelpiece there is a gallant scene of Mars relating to the vine lifecycle. This floor, which received the most elaborate and Venus accompanied by Cupid. Two interior scenes Since 2004 the conservatory has made a cuvée decoration, is the stately floor of the château. above the door complete the painted decoration. with its ten white grape varieties. 4 The corner tower houses a decoration of grotesques and two scenes telling the well-known legend of Adonis, from Ovid’s * Metamorphoses .

*Explanations overleaf.