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Lot Essay
The Champalimaud boiseries originally came from the château de Forges before the collector Henri Jouvenel installed them in the hôtel de Luzy in the early 20th century. They are illustrated in situ at the hôtel de Luzy by 1934 in Paul Jarry, Le quartier du Luxembourg. Architecture et Décorations Intérieures, Paris, 1934, pl 6-16.
Although there are châteaux de Forges in Nières, the Corrèze, and Alliers, these boiseries were most probably commissioned for the neoclassical château de Forges near Paris. A school since 1949, in design it relates closely to both Sourches and le Marais and its central dome dates it stylistically to the early 1770's - the same date as the boiseries. An earlier house entirely rebuilt during Louis XV's reign, the château de Forges was purchased in 1929 by Monsieur and Madame Essig, who in turn endowed it as a religious school in 1949. It would seem highly likely that some of the boiseries left the château around the time that the house was sold in 1929, and this would certainly coincide with the Jouvenel's installation in the hôtel de Luzy, Paris. They are thought to have added some boiseries to the hôtel's already rich interiors when they moved there (Le Faubourg Saint Germain, éditions des Deux Mondes, Paris, 1966, pp.90-92).
The hôtel de Luzy, 6 rue Firou, is located in the Faubourg Saint-Germain district. The town house dates from the 17th century but its architecture and decoration were completely remodelled by the celebrated architect Marie-Joseph Peyre (1730-1788). It is perhaps most famous as the home of Dorothie Luzy, who acted at the Theatre Français and whose most celebrated visitor was her lover Charles Maurice de Talleyrand (1754-1838), who described their liasons in his book Mémoires (C. Frignac, The Great Houses of Paris, London, 1979, p. 87-89). The hôtel was sold to Monsieur and Madame Pierre Schlumberger in 1969.
Although there are châteaux de Forges in Nières, the Corrèze, and Alliers, these boiseries were most probably commissioned for the neoclassical château de Forges near Paris. A school since 1949, in design it relates closely to both Sourches and le Marais and its central dome dates it stylistically to the early 1770's - the same date as the boiseries. An earlier house entirely rebuilt during Louis XV's reign, the château de Forges was purchased in 1929 by Monsieur and Madame Essig, who in turn endowed it as a religious school in 1949. It would seem highly likely that some of the boiseries left the château around the time that the house was sold in 1929, and this would certainly coincide with the Jouvenel's installation in the hôtel de Luzy, Paris. They are thought to have added some boiseries to the hôtel's already rich interiors when they moved there (Le Faubourg Saint Germain, éditions des Deux Mondes, Paris, 1966, pp.90-92).
The hôtel de Luzy, 6 rue Firou, is located in the Faubourg Saint-Germain district. The town house dates from the 17th century but its architecture and decoration were completely remodelled by the celebrated architect Marie-Joseph Peyre (1730-1788). It is perhaps most famous as the home of Dorothie Luzy, who acted at the Theatre Français and whose most celebrated visitor was her lover Charles Maurice de Talleyrand (1754-1838), who described their liasons in his book Mémoires (C. Frignac, The Great Houses of Paris, London, 1979, p. 87-89). The hôtel was sold to Monsieur and Madame Pierre Schlumberger in 1969.