The Hôtel de Soubise () is a city mansion '' entre cour et jardin'' (), located at 60

rue des Francs-Bourgeois Rue des Francs-Bourgeois () is one of the longer streets in the Marais district of Paris, France. Starting near Centre Georges Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou ( en, Natio ...

, in the

3rd arrondissement of Paris The 3rd arrondissement of Paris (''IIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements (districts) of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is colloquially referred to as the ''"troisième"'' meaning "third" in F ...

History

The Hôtel de Soubise was built for the Prince and Princess de

Soubise Soubise can refer to: * Soubise, a salpicon of cooked and pureed rice and onions; used primarily "au gratin". (steaks, tournedos) * Soubise sauce, based on Béchamel sauce, with the addition of a ''soubise'' of onion and rice purée * Soubise, Ch ...

on the site of a semi-fortified

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals ...

named the ''Grand-Chantier'' built in 1375 for ''connétable'' Olivier de Clisson, that had formerly been a property of the

Templars , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

. The site previously contained the Hôtel de Guise, the Paris residence of the

Dukes of Guise Count of Guise and Duke of Guise (pronounced �ɥiz were titles in the French nobility. Originally a seigneurie, in 1417 Guise was erected into a county for René, a younger son of Louis II of Anjou. While disputed by the House of Luxembourg ( ...

, a cadet branch of the

House of Lorraine The House of Lorraine (german: link=no, Haus Lothringen) originated as a cadet branch of the House of Metz. It inherited the Duchy of Lorraine in 1473 after the death without a male heir of Nicholas I, Duke of Lorraine. By the marriage of Fra ...

. It was the birthplace of the last Duke,

Francis Joseph, Duke of Guise Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places *Rural Mu ...

, the son of

Élisabeth Marguerite d'Orléans Élisabeth Marguerite d'Orléans (26 December 1646 - 17 March 1696), known as Isabelle d'Orléans, was the Duchess of Alençon and, during her husband's lifetime, Duchess of Angoulême. She was a daughter of Gaston d'Orléans and a first cousin o ...

, Duchess of Alençon. He died in 1675 and the Guise estate passed to Marie de Lorraine who died at the Hôtel in 1688 having been born there in 1615. On March 27, 1700, François de Rohan, prince de Soubise bought the Hôtel de Clisson, lately de Guise, and asked the architect

Pierre-Alexis Delamair Pierre-Alexis Delamair (; 1675/6 in Châtenay-Malabry – 25 July 1745 in Agde) was a French architect, theorist and city planner, whose ambitious plan for a rational restructuring of the center of Paris, 1737, never came to fruition, as it would ...

to remodel it completely. Works started in 1704. His wife

Anne de Rohan-Chabot Anne de Rohan-Chabot (Anne Julie; 1648 – 4 February 1709) was a French noble. A member of the House of Rohan, she was wife of the Prince of Soubise. It was she who brought the lordship of Soubise into the junior line of the House of Rohan. S ...

, at one time mistress of

Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

(their affair is thought to have funded the purchase of the building), died here in 1709.

Hercule Mériadec, Prince of Soubise Hercule may refer to: Fictional characters * Hercules, in Roman mythology * Hercule Poirot, a detective created by Agatha Christie * Hercule Flambeau, in the Father Brown mysteries by G. K. Chesterton * Hercule (''Dragon Ball'') or Mr. Satan, in ...

(son of François) was responsible for some interior décor at the Hôtel de Soubise engaging Germain Boffrand in the process. This dates from the 1730s. Improvements were made to celebrate the marriage of Hercule Mériadec to

Marie Sophie de Courcillon Marie Sophie de Courcillon (6 August 1713 – 4 April 1756) was a French salonnière, Duchess of Rohan-Rohan and Princess of Soubise by marriage. She was the granddaughter of Philippe de Courcillon, better known as the ''marquis de Dangeau'' ...

, granddaughter of the famous

marquis de Dangeau A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

. It was the home of Louis XV's friend

Charles de Rohan Charles de Rohan (16 July 17151 July 1787), Prince of Soubise, Duke of Rohan-Rohan, Seigneur of Roberval, and Marshal of France from 1758, was a soldier, and minister to kings Louis XV and Louis XVI. He was the last male of his branch of the Hou ...

, prince de Soubise; his daughter

Charlotte Élisabeth Godefride de Rohan Charlotte de Rohan (''Charlotte Godefride Élisabeth''; 7 October 1737 – 4 March 1760) was a French aristocrat who married into the House of Condé, a cadet branch of the ruling House of Bourbon, during the Ancien Régime. She was Princess ...

, future

princesse de Condé Princesse (French 'princess') may refer to: *"Princesse", single hit for Julie Zenatti Julie Zenatti (born 5 February 1981) is a French singer. She first played the role of Fleur-de-Lys and later Esmeralda on stage for the musical ''Notre-Dame ...

was born here in 1737 as was the Princess of Guéméné in 1743. Interiors by Germain Boffrand, created about 1735–40 and partly dismantled, are accounted among the high points of the

rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

style in France (Kimball 1943: 178). They constituted the new apartments of the Prince on the ground floor and the Princesse on the ''

piano nobile The ''piano nobile'' ( Italian for "noble floor" or "noble level", also sometimes referred to by the corresponding French term, ''bel étage'') is the principal floor of a palazzo. This floor contains the main reception and bedrooms of the ho ...

'', both of which featured oval salons looking into the garden. These rooms have changed very little since the 18th century, including the ''Chambre du prince'', ''Salon ovale du prince'', ''Chambre d'apparat de la princesse'' and the very fine ''Salon ovale de la princesse'' with gilded carvings and mirror-glass embedded in the ''

boiserie Panelling (or paneling in the U.S.) is a millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials. Panelling was developed in antiquity to make r ...

'' and ceiling canvases and

overdoor An "overdoor" (or "Supraporte" as in German, or "sopraporte" as in Italian) is a painting, bas-relief or decorative panel, generally in a horizontal format, that is set, typically within ornamental mouldings, over a door, or was originally intend ...

s by

François Boucher François Boucher ( , ; ; 29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories ...

Charles-Joseph Natoire Charles-Joseph Natoire (3 March 1700 – 23 August 1777) was a French painter in the Rococo manner, a pupil of François Lemoyne and director of the French Academy in Rome, 1751–1775. Considered during his lifetime the equal of François Bouch ...

, and

Carle Van Loo Carle or Carlé is a surname. Notable people with the name include: *Andrea Cosima Carle, whose stage name is Maggie Mae (1960 – 2021), German singer *Barbara Carle (born 1958), French-American poet, critic, translator and Italianist *David Ca ...

. Since a

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used ...

of 1808, this residence has been the property of the State. Nowadays it hosts the Musée des Archives Nationales and a part of the

French National Archives The Archives nationales (, "National Archives" in English; abbreviated AN) are the national archives of France. They preserve the archives of the French state, apart from the archives of the Ministry of Armed Forces and Ministry of Foreign Af ...

References

Bibliography

Fiske Kimball Sidney Fiske Kimball (1888 – 1955) was an American architect, architectural historian and museum director. A pioneer in the field of architectural preservation in the United States, he played a leading part in the restoration of Monticel ...

, 1943. ''The Creation of the Rococo'' (

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin ...

External links

insecula.com entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soubise, Hotel Hôtels particuliers in Paris Le Marais Buildings and structures in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris House of Rohan House of Guise

History

See also

References

Bibliography

External links