CHÂTEAU D'OIRON. POITOU, FRANCE. 16TH CENTURY.

Curiothèque LAB
Mar 21
2 min read

Updated: Jul 22

The château was built by the Gouffier family after Charles VII granted the lands to Guillaume Gouffier in the mid-fifteenth century. Claude Gouffier (1501–1570), Grand Equerry to Henry II, assembled an outstanding collection: paintings by Perugino and Raphael, taxidermy, marine objects, scientific instruments, globes. Some of these paintings are now in the Louvre.

Between 1546 and 1549 Claude Gouffier built the Great Equerry Gallery, 55 metres long, in the style of the School of Fontainebleau. Its walls are covered with scenes from the story of Troy – the most significant Renaissance mural decoration in France after the François I gallery at Fontainebleau, completed in 1540.

Claude Gouffier served as the model for the Marquis de Carabas in Charles Perrault's fairy tale Puss in Boots. Later the château belonged to Madame de Montespan, mistress of Louis XIV. In 1793 it was ransacked by revolutionaries and stood abandoned for many years. It was listed as a historic monument in 1923 and bought by the French state in 1941.

Today the cabinet of curiosities of Claude Gouffier has been recreated inside the château, with taxidermy hanging from the ceiling, marine objects, and scientific instruments. Alongside it lives the contemporary art collection Curios et Mirabilia: 80 works in the spirit of the Renaissance, engaging hearing, smell, and touch. The collection celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.

40 km south of Saumur. Open to visitors.