Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Fontfreyde Hotel is a historic monument located on Rue des Gras in Clermont-Ferrand, partly dating from the 16th century. It illustrates Renaissance architecture with its facades adorned with doric, ionic and Corinthian pilasters, and its screw staircase surmounted by a turret. Filed in 1912, it housed a local art museum before becoming, in 2010, a photographic centre dedicated to contemporary creation.

The building, built on the remains of a medieval building, was remodeled by Gabriel de Fontfreyde in the 16th century. Its iconic elements include an inner courtyard with superimposed galleries, carved coats of arms, and a skylight decorated with rinceaux. Archaeological excavations in 2001 revealed levels of ancient (I-II century) and medieval (XIII century) occupation, confirming its deep historical anchor.

Over the centuries, the hotel has changed its owners from Fontfreyde to Dumas de Labro, then to bourgeois families such as the Rongier or the Montaignac. Acquired by the City in 1912, it was restored in the 1920s under the direction of Gabriel Ruprich-Robert, with additions like stained-glass windows historical by Adrien Baratte. After hosting the Ranquet Museum (1921-1989), it was converted into a temporary exhibition space before its transformation into a photographic centre.

Since 2010, the Fontfreyde hotel - Centre photographique proposes an annual program of 3 to 4 exhibitions, combining contemporary and historical photographs. It has also hosted artistic residences since 2004, inviting photographers to capture the urban and social evolution of Clermont-Ferrand. These residences, driven by the centre since 2012, aim to build a visual memory of the city while supporting the creation.

The centre is structured around two axes: commissariat projects and artist monographs, with particular attention to plastic photography. It publishes catalogues, organizes meetings and mediation actions to anchor photography in the local cultural landscape. Residents include Charles Fréger (2004), Bertrand Meunier (2012), or Stéphanie Lacombe (2022).

Architecturally, the hotel preserves traces of its transformations, such as the north façade aligned in 1934 when the Saint-Pierre market was built. Its interior spaces, adapted to exhibitions, preserve Renaissance elements such as superimposed galleries, nicknamed the "House of Architects" building with reference to the architectural treatises of the period.

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