Coming into the grounds the house has a typical style of the area, though once you get round to the entrance it appears more grand, even if you can see that there is of work on the roof (there is some evidence of this in the interior, with mould, crumbling plaster, etc) and a large garden.
In the garden was a small exhibition of art, where an artist had taken a famous painting and put at its side another, making a little story. For example, there was Van Gogh's bedroom,preceded by a picture of the same vane but this time the room was untidy. In between was a caption I could only translate as "I've tidied my room at last, mum". The one that may be of interest to military bloggers is this one, showing why Napoleon looked so miserable in the famous picture.
The Chateau was well laid out, with rooms followed in numerical order, and informative placards everywhere. It is the only house I've been in that had a room solely for storing bath tubs!, and a room (more an alcove) specially for powdering wigs. In one wing, for a limited time only, was a special exhibition by the artist Claude Brabant on the history of French (with offshoots) fashion, starting with Adam and Eve up to Victorian times. The gimick being that the models, all 200 of them, were all Barbie or Ken based.
This case shows Albert and Victoria, With Napoleon the third below, and, just out of shot, Franz Joseph.
Bill Who was there, and here he is in front of the case containing Napoleon and his assorted ladies. Note that he has a cabinet all to himself on this subject!
Wish I was there :)
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, Meung-sur-Loire is the birthplace of that great French flic, M. Maigret.
Love the region. More great pictures.
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