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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Hotel de Thomas de Montval is a private hotel located at 22 rue Croix-Baragnon, in the historic centre of Toulouse. Built between 1901 and 1904 by the architect Jules Calbairac for industrialist Paul-Marius Thomas, it is inspired by the neo-Renaissance style. The building incorporates 16th century architectural elements, including eight arcades and medallions from two Renaissance hotels destroyed during the excavation of Rue du Languedoc: the Hôtel de Jean de Pins (1528) and that of Jean de Nolet (1542), the latter being partially designed by architect Nicolas Bachelier.

The street façade, made of brick and carved stone, rises on three floors and has a symmetry marked by canned pilasters and stone balconies. The inner courtyard, organized around four buildings, houses the re-used arcades, six of which come from the gallery of Jean de Pins and two from the gallery of Jean de Nolet, recognizable by their archvolts. The medallions placed in the ecolinons combine authentic Renaissance portraits, surrounded by the Nolet rose crown, and imitations made in 1904.

Paul-Marius Thomas, an industrialist enriched in the mill and mayor of Saint-Paul-sur-Save, designed the plans of the hotel himself, entrusting their execution to Jules Calbairac. The project aimed to enhance the Renaissance elements saved from destruction, while creating a modern space. The works, completed in 1904, preserved major sculptural works, such as the mask-shaped gargoyles of Nicolas Bachelier or the cartridges of Jean Sajous, marking the symbolic dates of 1535 and 1904.

The interior of the hotel, although meeting the codes of the early 20th century, includes neo-Renaissance elements, such as a fireplace. The distribution of spaces reflects contemporary usages of the time, while paying tribute to the Toulouse heritage. The building, partially classified as a Historical Monument in 1995 for its facades on courtyards, bears witness to the architectural ingenuity that was able to marry two distinct epochs.

The medallions of the court represent both members of the Thomas family and Renaissance figures, illustrating the sponsor's desire to be part of a prestigious lineage. The six medallions of the angle, imitated in 1904, complete this hybrid ensemble, while the gargoyles and arcades recall the legacy of Nicolas Bachelier and Jean Sajous, major sculptors of the Toulouse Renaissance.

The Hotel Thomas de Montval thus embodies a transition between the past and the present, where Renaissance art is reinterpreted through the prism of the early twentieth century. Its history also reflects the urban transformations of Toulouse, marked by the Haussmannian breakthroughs that sacrificed part of the medieval and Renaissance heritage in favor of the modernization of the city.

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