Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Hotel de Réauville, dit de Caumont, is an Aixese mansion built between 1715 and 1742 in the Mazarin district, on the plans of the Parisian architect Robert de Cotte, for François de Rolland, seigneur of Réauville, president of the Court of Auditors. The building, made of Bibémus stone, embodies the classic 18th century elegance with a harmonious facade, a carved gate, and richly decorated interiors with gypsum and woodwork. Three generations of the Rolland de Réauville family occupied it before its sale in 1758 to the Bruny de La Tour-d'Aigues family, then to the Caumonts in 1795.

Ranked a historic monument in 1990, the hotel houses from 1970 to 2013 the Conservatoire Darius Milhaud, considered one of the most beautiful in France. Rached by Culturespaces in 2013 for 10 million euros, he underwent an exemplary restoration (12.6 million euros) before reopening in 2015 under the name Caumont Centre d'Art. The place has been offering temporary exhibitions (Canaletto, Chagall, Botero...), a tea salon, and French gardens, while preserving its original furniture and decors (Louis XV lounges, Pauline de Caumont bedroom).

The architecture combines classical symmetry and baroque details: a central forebody framed by pilasters, mascarons carved by Adrien Dhuez and Jean-Baptiste Rambot, and a stairwell adorned by Honoré Gastaud. The gardens, designed according to the principles of the eighteenth century, include a circular basin and a fountain of the Three Tritons. The vaulted basement, the salons with golden gypsums (Putti's lounges, Rinceaux), and Pauline's bedroom, with its Polish bed, bear witness to the fascist of the Aixese aristocracy.

The hotel also illustrates the heritage changes: from private residence to cultural equipment (conservatory), then to private museum space, it embodies the valorization of historical heritage. His artistic programming, combining impressionist painters (Sisley, Turner) and popular icons (Marilyn Monroe, Yves Klein), attracts an international audience. The restorations preserved its original elements, such as wrought iron grilles or mythological decorations, while adapting to contemporary norms.

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