Art & Architecture

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The gallery of paintings

The gallery at Château d'Oiron is 55 metres long and houses one of the largest painted settings of the French Renaissance. It was painted between 1546 and 1549 to a commission from Claude Gouffier, Grand Écuyer de France from 1546 to 1570.

One of the largest painted settings of the Renaissance

Probably executed by an Italian workshop in Emilia - as attested by a drawing in the Musée du Louvre - it bears witness to the creative spirit that reigned at Oiron during the Renaissance.Its 14 scenes, freely inspired by theIliad and theAeneid , tell the story of the Trojan War and the life of the Trojan hero Aeneas.

The paintings are set in trompe-l'œil frames, inhabited by figures in keeping with the subject.

The Prologue, The Glory of Francis I

The inscription that survives in part dedicates the gallery to François de Valois, " King of the French, very Christian prince, very invincible and very powerful [...]".

Vue de la peinture le prologue de François 1er, où l'on aperçoit pégase en partie centrale
Le Prologue - La Gloire de François ler, galerie de peintures, château d'Oiron

© Jean-Luc Paillé, Centre des monuments nationaux

The figures painted in the frames represent Pegasus in the centre, the personification of the sovereign's fame, flanked on the left by Apollo and on the right by Mars or Minerva , gods of the arts and war.

The Assembly of the Gods

Peinture représentant l'assemblée des Dieux
L'Assemblée des dieux, galerie de peintures, château d'Oiron

© Jean-Luc Paillé, Centre des monuments nationaux

The gods are assembled for the wedding of Thetis and Peleus (parents of Achilles).

Eris, goddess of discord, depicted with bat wings, disrupts the feast by throwing the golden apple destined for the most beautiful of the goddesses into the midst of them.

Jupiter refuses to award it and orders Mercury , standing next to him, to lead Juno , Minerva and Venus to Mount Ida , where Paris will judge their beauty.

In the centre of the base, the enormous naked old man lying in an oval niche is Demogorgon, father of the gods, whose first child was Discord .

The Judgement of Paris

Peinture murale de la galerie Renaissance représentant Pâris qui remet la pomme d'or à Vénus
Le jugement de Pâris, galerie de peintures du château d'Oiron

© Jean-Luc Paillé, Centre des monuments nationaux

Sitting near a cave, next to a spring personified by a nymph, Paris, as a shepherd, gives the golden apple to Venus, who has promised him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world. She is crowned by two lovers.

Mercury, the messenger of the gods, is surrounded by Juno, accompanied by her peacock, who is threatening Paris, and Minerva, who is taking off her clothes.

In the background, to the left, is a beautiful landscape of ancient buildings, with a seated shepherd playing the bagpipes as he watches over a herd of oxen.

The motif at the top of the composition has a precise meaning: the human mask with the ears of a donkey and the horns of an ox is an allegory of the shepherd whose stupidity will cause the ruin of Troy.

The Abduction of Helen

peinture murale de la galerie de peinture représentant L'enlèvement d'Hélène par Pâris
L’enlèvement d'Hélène, galerie de peintures, château d'Oiron

© Jean-Luc Paillé, Centre des monuments nationaux

In response to Venus' promise, Paris, son of the Trojan king Priam, kidnaps Helen wife of the Spartan king Menelaus, reputed to be the most beautiful of women. This is how he starts the Trojan War.

The scene is set against a vast landscape evoking the ruined city of Sparta and its port, where the Trojan ships anchor.

The dramatic atmosphere of the stormy lights and the framing figures foretell the fatal consequences of this abduction.

The Sacrifice of Iphigenia

Peinture murale qui évoque le moment où la déesse Diane substitue une biche à Iphigénie
Le sacrifice d'Iphigénie, galerie de peintures, château d'Oiron

© Jean-Luc Paillé, Centre des monuments nationaux

The scene recalls the moment when the goddess Diana substitutes a doe for Iphigenia, whom her father Agamemnon was preparing to sacrifice to ward off the storm that was holding up the fleet at Aulis, preventing the Greek ships from leaving for war.

The inscription denounces the attitude of Agamemnon and the Greeks who ruined the city: " You have appeased the winds with the blood and murder of a virgin ".

In the frame, the unicorns refer to the purity of the young girl sacrificed, the dolphins to the boat races , the chubby heads to the winds and the oxen's heads to the sacrifices.

The fight near the ships

Peinture murale représentant une scène de combat
Le Combat près des vaisseaux, galerie de peintures, château d'Oiron

© Jean-Luc Paillé, Centre des monuments nationaux

The story of the Trojan War begins with this battle scene: behind the combatants, we see a city by the sea and a two-storey colonnade representing a very real ancient building: the Pillars of Guardianship in Bordeaux (an ancient temple built in the 2nd century, dedicated to Augustus , destroyed by order of Louis XIV in the 17th century).

The Burning of Patroclus

Peinture murale de la galerie Renaissance représentant le bûcher de Patrocle
Le bûcher de Patrocle, galerie de peintures, château d'Oiron

© Jean-Luc Paillé, Centre des monuments nationaux

This scene occupies the wall above the two doors leading to the upper chapel of the castle and to a staircase .

This episode does not follow the logic of the story, since Patroclus' funeral takes place after Achilles, whose friend he was, has avenged him by killing Hector , his murderer (see the scene entitled "The Single Combat").

The pyre is made up of the bodies of a dozen Trojans killed by Achilles in revenge for the death of Patroclus.

The figures in the frame - satyrs, lovers, hairy and bearded masks - are purely decorative.

Scenes of combat

A large composition, the largest in the programme, occupies the entire back wall and the west wall up to the first window.

The scene cannot be precisely identified.

It is probably a typical battle, the combatants are wearing antique costumes but the weapons lying on the floor are from the Renaissance period.

The Single Combat

Peinture du combat entre Pâris et Ménélas, roi de Sparte et mari d'Hélène
Le combat singulier, galerie de peintures, château d'Oiron

© Jean-Luc Paillé, Centre des monuments nationaux

The inscription at the bottom indicates that this is the single combat between Paris, the king of Sparta, and Menelaus, the husband of Helen: " Neither the single combat, nor the sacrifices, nor the altars of Priam can erase the stain of the nuptial bed ".

The accompanying figures comment on the scene. The hares evoke Paris's cowardice in trying to escape from Menelaus, who is represented by lion's heads.

The urban landscape is identified as a view of Rome: the island of the Tiber, the Fabricius Bridge, the slopes of the Capitol and the Palatine Hill.

The precision of this representation indicates that the painter had actually seen the city of Rome.

The Death of Hector

Peinture murale représentant la mort d'Hector au cours d'une embuscade tendue par Achille
La mort d'Hector, galerie de peintures, château d'Oiron

© Jean-Luc Paillé, Centre des monuments nationaux

The inscription makes it possible to identify the battle: " Follows the terrible and lamentable massacre which after the death of Hector Achilles inflicted on the unhappy Phrygians ".

Hector was killed by Achilles during an ambush.

This version of events is not Homer's, but that of Dictys of Crete, no doubt because this account allowed the painter to depict a horse fight that resembled a knightly tournament with combatants in 16th-century armour.

In the frames, the heads express horror, the winged mask screams in fright, the putti hold their heads and scream, the two emaciated women personify misfortune and ruin, and the black ox heads symbolise death.

Only the two figures of women leaning on long sticks add a note of hope: they are images of the Constance, heralding the future intervention of Aeneas.

The Trojan Horse

Peinture du Cheval de Troie
Le Cheval de Troie, galerie de peintures, château d'Oiron

© Jean-Luc Paillé, Centre des monuments nationaux

At the centre of the scene, the wooden horse, with Greek warriors hiding inside, is brought into the city of Troy after the Greek Sinon convinces Priam that it is a gift from the gods.

The scene shows Sinon brought before King Priam, draped in red and crowned.

Behind him, Laocoon (priest of Apollo) is about to throw his javelin into the horse 's belly to prove that it sounds hollow.

The figures in the frame illustrate evil, violence and cunning.

The Flight of Aeneas

Peinture murale de la fuite d'Énée. Énée, fils du mortel Anchise et de la déesse Aphrodite, est l'un des héros de la guerre de Troie
La fuite d'Énée, galerie de peintures, château d'Oiron.

© Jean-Luc Paillé, Centre des monuments nationaux

Troy is taken thanks to the stratagem of the horse seen stranded on a square.

Trojans flee the burning city by night. Aeneas is carrying his father Anchises on his back and holding his son Ascanius by the hand; they are heading towards the right-hand side of the composition, lit by daylight, where ships are waiting for them to embark.

The inscription takes two lines from Virgil's Aeneid, spoken by Aeneas, who now becomes the main character of the cycle: " What words could depict this night of massacres and funerals? What tears can answer our woes?

The female figures on the side, their ankles tied and their hands bound, howl in despair, evoking the fate reserved for the defeated, who are taken away as slaves.

The weapons and battles of Aeneas

Peinture murale représentant les armes et les combats d'Énée
Les armes et les combats d'Énée, galerie de peintures, château d'Oiron

© Jean-Luc Paillé, Centre des monuments nationaux

In the centre of the composition, on a rocky platform, the Cyclops and Vulcan are forging Aeneas' weapons. This painting briefly summarises the hero's adventures, while the scenes to the side allude to the Trojan's navigations and conquest of Italy, and recall the divine protection he received.

The Golden Palm

Le rameau d'Or est une des peintures de la grande galerie du château d'Oiron
Le rameau d'Or, galerie de peintures, château d'Oiron

© Jean-Luc Paillé, Centre des monuments nationaux

This painting was entirely redone by Louis Gouffier (XVIIth S.), following the drilling of the window, and perhaps after thefire which occurred in 1627.

It depicts Hercules and Diomedes' mares .

However, the golden branch that appears on the base frame is a remnant of the original composition and makes it possible to identify the subject that has disappeared: Aeneas' visit to the Sibyl.

The Sibyl agrees to show Aeneas the way to the Underworld when he wishes to consult his father.

Aeneas in the Underworld (The Entrance to the Underworld)

Peinture murale représentant l'entrée des Enfers gardée par le chien Cerbère
Énée aux enfers, galerie de peintures, château d'Oiron

© Jean-Luc Paillé, Centre des monuments nationaux

This last composition, which was painted first, unfolds in two distinct scenes on either side of the window, up to the fireplace.

It evokes Canto VI of the Aeneid, where Aeneas goes to the Sibyl of Cumae to find out how to descend to the Underworld to consult his father Anchises.

To the left of the window, the entrance to the Underworld is guarded by the dog Cerberus. The whole piece was repainted under Louis Gouffier according to the original painted remains.

Aeneas in the Underworld (Tartarus)

Peinture murale de la galerie Renaissance représentant le Tartare (Prison infernale des dieux vaincus et des héros qui avaient offensé Zeus)
Énée aux Enfers - Le Tartare (détail), galerie de peintures, château d'Oiron

© Jean-Luc Paillé, Centre des monuments nationaux

The scene represents the Tartarus where the criminals receive their punishment. Aeneas did not penetrate in this place which was only described to him by Sibyl.

This depiction does not correspond to Virgil's description, but seems to have been inspired by a modern illustration in the French translation of Polyphilus' Dream (1546) .

In the rest of the text, Aeneas meets his father, who reassures him about his future by introducing him to his descendants.

After this episode, Aeneas arrived in Italy, in the region of Latium, and was to be responsible for the foundation of Rome.

The fireplace

Vue sur la cheminée de la galerie de peintures
Cheminée de la galerie de peintures

© Samuel Quenault, Centre des monuments nationaux

The purpose of this unique fireplace was not to heat the gallery but to enliven the space with the flame of a hearth. Its carved decoration combines the monogram and motto of Claude Gouffier, the initials and coat of arms of Claude and his wife Françoise de Brosse, the gavel and the royal sword. The motto Hic terminus haeret (here is the end), written twice, is a line from the Aeneid, uttered by Dido, Queen of Carthage, in an attempt to hold back Aeneas, with whom she is infatuated.

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