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Origin and history

The Artois Pavilion is a mansion located in Vaux-sur-Seine, built between 1726 and 1728 by Jacques Fayolle on the remains of a 17th century building belonging to the painter Hyacinthe Rigaud. The latter, Louis XIV's official artist, lived there from 1699 to 1714 and received personalities such as the Marquis de Louvois. Rigaud already owned another residence in Vaux, acquired in 1694, where he lived with his wife Elizabeth de Gouy.

In 1726 Jacques Fayolle, the officer of the King and cousin of the Pâris brothers, bought the estate and had the old building razed to build the present pavilion. The architect could be Germain Boffrand or Robert de Cotte, close to Fayolle. Two paintings by Pierre-Denis Martin, representing the pavilion and its gardens, were made around 1730 to decorate the house. The estate changed hands several times before being acquired in 1775 by Charles-Philippe of France, Count of Artois and future Charles X.

The Earl of Artois had the pavilion largely recast in a neo-palladian style, adding a doric column central rotunda. The works, not officially attributed, evoke the work of François-Joseph Bélanger, architect of the Count, in particular by their resemblance to the castle of Bagatelle, built in 1777. After the Revolution, the pavilion passed into the hands of several owners, including the Marquis d'Héricourt, whose widow had a chapel built in 1822.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the pavilion belonged to figures such as Ernest Caron, president of the city council of Paris, and then to Léon Bailby, director of the Intransigent. In 1953, he was acquired by the American heir Marjorie Merriweather Post, then transmitted to his daughter Eleanor and grandson Antal Post-Bekessy. The latter undertook a major restoration between 1997 and 2001. Since 2021, the estate has belonged to the Pierre and Marie-Alyette Fournel couple, who organize cultural events there.

The architecture of the pavilion is distinguished by a "U" building body, a facade adorned with bas-reliefs inspired by Pompei, and a park of four hectares mixing French gardens and factories, including a cave attributed to Richard Mique. The estate also includes a chapel, a theatre, and a dock on the Seine. Ranked a historic monument in 1945, its park has been protected since 1973.

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