Not far from the city center, about a ten-minute walk from Mirabeau Boulevard, is a spectacular corner of charm, a 17th-century city mansion, the Pavillon Vendôme, surrounded by a manicured park, many of whose trees are pruned in an artistic and original way, in the shape of a winding coil, curling smoke. Colorful flowers in their bold colors impress the eye and expand the heart with the originality of their combination.
The Duke of Vendôme finds love
Boldness also characterized the establishment of the villa in particularly unique circumstances by Louis II, Duke of Vendôme. Louis II was the grandson of the King of France, Henry IV, andGabriel D'EstreHis father was Cesar de Vendôme, son of the king and his lover Gabrielle.
Cesar de Vendôme, who was an avowed homosexual, was forced to marry the richest heiress in the kingdom, Françoise de Lorraine, a very pious and spiritual but at the same time a practical businesswoman. The strange couple had three children, the eldest of whom was, as mentioned, Louis II, Duke of Vendôme, who was born in 1612. Louis II began a glorious career as a military man and was seriously wounded at the Siege of Arras. He too was forced to marry, this time with Cardinal Mazarin's niece, Laura Mancini. In 1651, the marriage of Laure-Victoire, Mazarin's niece, and Louis II, grandson of Henry IV, was celebrated.
Laure died in 1657, at the age of 21, giving birth to her third son, who died three years after her. Louis II, who remained a widower, fell deeply in love, a few years later, with the widow of Henri de Rascas, a prominent landowner in Cannae, First Consul of Aix-en-Provence.
Henri de Rascas was a member of a famous local noble family that produced statesmen, judges and scholars. Henri de Rascas's uncle was Pierre-Antoine de Rascas, an antiquities dealer and outstanding scholar, whose knowledge was so impressed by Henry IV that he befriended him and brought him to the royal court. There he entrusted him with the creation of the famous Cabinet of Medals. Upon the king's death, Pierre-Antoine de Rascas returned to Aix, crowned with glory.
His brother, a second uncle of the husband of the Beauty of Cana, fought (in vain) against the debauchery of the people of Aix, nobles and commoners alike, who took advantage of the masquerades and carnivals to frolic shamelessly under every green tree, under every gate of the bustling city. These were the two uncles of Henri de Rascas, who, when he died, left his beautiful wife alone, not for long. Lucrèce de Forbin-Soliés was known as “the Beauty of Cana”.
The merry widow did not remain indifferent to the charms of Louis II, Duke of Vendôme, and the two used to meet in his palace or in her own house, Rue de la Verrerie. The walls of the couple's bedroom in the beauty's house and its ceiling were covered with mirrors, gold ornaments, cornices and rounded decorations, as well as mythological images. Selene, the moon goddess, and Endymion, a shepherd, a handsome youth with whom she fell in love, as well as Procris, a princess of Athens with a stormy temper, and Cephalus, a man of extraordinary beauty, were painted as a couple in love.
Louis II and the Belle of Cana, both widowers, planned to formalize their stormy love, but the king, Louis XIV, opposed their marriage, which was incompatible with the goals and values of the royal court. To prevent the wedding, the king appointed Louis II, Duke of Vendôme, a cardinal. The appointment ceremony was celebrated with great pomp, in the presence of everyone from the religious and governmental circles, in the great church of Aix-en-Provence, on April 1667, XNUMX. Cardinal de Retz was also among the participants. Louis II, Duke and Cardinal, subsequently enjoyed the privilege of participating in many important ecclesiastical events.
None of this prevented him from continuing to spend stormy nights in the arms of his beloved, the Belle of Cana. The Duke-Cardinal found a ruse and built a magnificent house at the gates of the city of Aix-en-Provence, Fabienne Vendôme, to serve as a refuge for the continued realization of his burning desire. The Belle of Cana would sneak into the elegant villa, in disguise, in the dead of night, stealthily, through a back gate (the garden still has two entrances today), accompanied by her maids, also disguised, “breathers,” in the peasant language. They all knew who the night birds of prey were…
The story of Vendome's villa
The construction of the villa was completed in 1667, but the stormy nights probably exhausted the Duke's strength, who breathed his last, prematurely, at the age of only 57, two years later. In French, "Grand Duke" is the name for the largest owl of its kind, among other types of owls, an expression that the peasants used in the following cynical play on words:
Las machouettos an tua lou duc!
Gasps killed the owl!
Why would you breathe and not breathe? I leave each of you the freedom to draw conclusions…
It is not known what became of the beauty after the death of her husband, but her name is forever etched in the history of the city. After the death of the Grand Duke, the villa changed hands many times and had many uses. In 1682, it was renovated to become the residence of the president of the court, Gautier de la Mole. It was then purchased by the painter Jean-Baptiste Van Loo, from the famous Van Loo family of painters, who added a second floor to house his family and set up a studio for himself.
The villa then passed into the hands of Barthélemy-Louis Rebouille, secretary of the Aix Academy. Father Jean-Joseph-Pierre Guigou, Bishop of Angoulême, who was the next owner of the house, transferred it to the Sisters of the Sacred Heart who maintained a school and boarding school for girls there. Throughout the 19th century, the Duke-Cardinal Wipéteau's nocturnal temple of love thus became a school for modest and pious girls.
In 1906, the villa, which was in a rather neglected state, was purchased by the cultural figure, originally Swiss, Henri Dobler, 1863-1941, who fell in love with Aix-en-Provence and settled there. Dobler soon became an important, influential and leading figure in the cultural life of the city in the twentieth century. Dobler organized exhibitions, supported local artists, was active in various associations and composed songs of praise for the city and books about its buildings and gardens. In addition to being a poet and writer, he was also a designer (he made furniture), a painter, an art collector, a musician and a critic.
Unfortunately, he did not show much vision in his artistic criticism when he slandered Cézanne’s paintings and gave them a lot of insulting titles. He atoned for this shameful shortsightedness by using his family’s fortune to promote art in Aix-en-Provence and, above all, by restoring, renovating and furnishing the neglected Fabien Vendôme. The benefactor devoted more than thirty years to the villa and garden, leaving behind for future generations a pure and impressive architectural gem. Can we not forgive him, then, for condemning Cézanne’s “dirty art of painting”?
Video of the exhibition dedicated to Henri Dobler at the Pavillon Vendôme 2012, Henri Dobler, The Dream House:
Henri Dobler au Pavillon Vendôme d'Aix-en-Provence
Dobler obtained the villa's classification as a historic site and signed a contract with the municipality of Aix-en-Provence. Upon the death of his wife in 1953, the site, at Dobler's behest, passed to the municipality. Today, the villa, which contains typical Provençal furniture, 17th- and 18th-century portraits, sculptures, and porcelain, serves as a museum where temporary exhibitions are held dedicated to modern and contemporary art.
Entrance to the park is free. The facade of the house showcases two impressive columns, in the Baroque style, each in the form of a giant man (Atlas), supporting the structure with his back. One is an allegory of dawn, the other an allegory of dusk.
Between the two giants, there is a masquerade of a young woman, her head crowned with corn, an allegory of summer, the face of the Beauty of Cana. She welcomes visitors with the same mysterious expression that she probably reserved for her lover Louis II, Duke and Cardinal.
Details about the Fabien Vendôme and its visit On the Aix-en-Provence municipality website
Want to live in Aix-en-Provence?
The Pavillon Vendôme is just one of the many charming attractions of Aix-en-Provence. Provence And to get to know them, it is recommended to live in the city for a few days. So if you decide to take my advice, you are welcome to enter the article Aix-en-Provence hotels and vacation apartments And find you a great place to stay.
In the city center of Aix-en-Provence, there was a branch of the self-service restaurant chain Planch, rightly recommended in Joel Tamenlis' article about Paris. This restaurant was an institution in the city for many years but closed a few years ago. Its branch in Place de Clichy also closed in Paris. Too bad. The branch near the Pompidou Center is not as good and less convenient.