Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The building at 28 rue Ernest-Renan (formerly rue Terre-Nègre) in Bordeaux is a shop transformed into a bourgeois house between 1899 and 1908. Acquised by Paul Berthelot, journalist and art critic, she underwent major changes under the direction of architect Albert Tournier. A second floor is added, and the facade on the garden side is redesigned with bowl-windows decorated with stained glass signed Jean-Léon Delmas. The richly decorated interior reflects the influence of Berthelot's decorative arts and travels, especially in Asia, as evidenced by the Chinese salon inspired by his stay in Hanoi (1902-1903).

The interior decorations are the work of local artists: Émile Brunet painted allegorical frescoes on the stairs and medallions depicting women, while Felix Carme adorns the walls of floral compositions, including L的Été, a canvas marouflé in the living room. The glass windows, polychrome ceramics and exterior ironwork (balcony, bodyguards) illustrate the mix of Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles. The house, although modest in size, is distinguished by its central staircase illuminated by a glass roof, its murals and its original furniture, today preserved by the city of Bordeaux.

Partially classified as historical monuments in 1992, the house protects its facades, roofs, the stairwell with its metal ramp, the Chinese living room, the bathroom on the first floor, and all the interior windows and decors. Its history reflects Berthelot's artistic eclecticism, mixing oriental influences, natural motifs and architectural modernity. The sobriety of the street façade contrasts with the exuberance of the one on garden, revealing a desire for urban discretion while cultivating a refined interior.

Originally conceived as a place of reception (the rooms being relegated to the floor), the house embodies the ideal of Art Nouveau: a harmony between art and nature, visible in recurrent plant motifs, stained stained windows and paintings. Recent polls (2021) revealed that the staircase frescoes covered an imitation of marble, highlighting the successive changes in the building. Today, this building bears witness to the role of Bordeaux as an artistic focal point at the hinge of the 19th and 20th centuries.

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