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Château de Vauvenargues dans les Bouches-du-Rhône

Patrimoine classé
Maison des hommes et des femmes célèbres
Atelier d'artiste
Château

Château de Vauvenargues

    5-11 Rue René Nicol
    13126 Vauvenargues
Private property
Château de Vauvenargues
Château de Vauvenargues
Château de Vauvenargues
Château de Vauvenargues
Château de Vauvenargues
Château de Vauvenargues
Château de Vauvenargues
Château de Vauvenargues
Château de Vauvenargues
Château de Vauvenargues
Château de Vauvenargues
Château de Vauvenargues
Château de Vauvenargues
Château de Vauvenargues
Crédit photo : Malost - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Moyen Âge central
Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1300
1400
1700
1800
1900
2000
1257
Passage to the Archbishops
XIIIe siècle
Initial construction
1722
Erection in marquisat
XVIIe siècle
Renovations by Henri de Clapiers
1929
Historical Monument
1958-1973
Pablo Picasso residence
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Castle, including 18s interior decoration: inscription by decree of 15 January 1929

Key figures

Robin - Doctor of King René First non noble owner in 1473.
Henri de Clapiers de Séguiran - Lord and Quarter of Camp Renovate the castle in the 17th century.
Joseph de Clapiers - Consul of Aix and Marquis Awarded for her role during the plague.
Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues - Writer of Lights 18th century intellectual figure.
Pablo Picasso - Painter and collector Last owner, buried on site.
Jacqueline Picasso - Wife and muse He was buried next to Picasso.

Origin and history

The Château de Vauvenargues is a Provençal bastide built in the 13th century, with towering walls and a fortified enclosure added in the 14th century. Redesigned in the 16th and 17th centuries, it combines medieval architecture and Renaissance. Located at Vauvenargues, at the foot of the Sainte-Victoire mountain, it initially depended on the Counts of Provence before passing to the Archbishops of Aix in 1257, then to noble families such as the Séguiran or the Clapiers, including the Marquis Luc de Vauvenargues, figure of the Enlightenment.

In the 18th century, King Louis XV erected the seigneury as a marquisate to reward Joseph de Clapiers, consul of Aix, for his role during the plague of Marseilles (1720). After the Revolution, the castle changed hands several times, becoming even a holiday colony before being acquired in 1958 by Pablo Picasso. The artist, fascinated by Cézanne and Sainte-Victoire, set up his studio and his art collection (Cézanne, Matisse, Degas...), and was buried there in 1973 with his wife Jacqueline.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 1929 for its architecture and interior decoration of the eighteenth century, the castle remains a private property closed to the public. Its history lies medieval heritage, Provencal nobility and modern artistic heritage, embodied by Picasso. The Sainte-Victoire mountain, a source of inspiration for Cézanne then Picasso, makes it an emblematic place of art and history of Provence.

The origins of the castle date back to a Roman castrum, replaced by a medieval fortress in the 13th century. The family of Clapiers, notably Henri (17th century), modernises the castle after a military career. The Marquisat was sold in 1790 to the Isoard family, close to Napoleon I, before knowing various owners in the 20th century, including a maritime association. Picasso sees a "Provencal Escurial" and plans to paint frescoes inspired by Piero della Francesca.

Today, the castle belongs to Catherine Hutin-Blay, daughter of Jacqueline Picasso. Although not visitable, he retained his furniture and period decors, as well as Picasso's works and souvenirs. The site, compared to the Spanish Escurial, symbolizes the dialogue between medieval history, nobility of Ancien Régime and artistic avant-garde, in a natural setting marked by the Sainte-Victoire, muse of Cézanne and Picasso.

External links