Cheverny

Sorry, Rick, to catch you with your eyes closed!

I remember Cheverny as the château with the gorgeous interior. The story we were told by the guide was that the owners, the Hurault family, sympathized with the revolution, and so the interior was not looted and ruined as was the case with most of the renaissance buildings belonging either to the Church or to the aristocracy.

The decoration of Cheverny is stunning. To my American eyes, it was not always clear what was a tapestry, a wall-covering, a painting, paneling painted with guilt to resemble a picture frame or an actual framed painting hung on the wall. I must say the guilt, figurative designs of flowers and scrolling were my favorites. The amount of time that must have been spent by highly skilled artisans painting these beautiful, intricate designs would be unthinkable today. It is a window into the social and economic chasm between the working class and the aristocracy and what must have been the building pressure for revolution in France. Cheverny is known best for its tapestries and furniture, but the decoration painted on paneling and as mosaics on bare walls and ceilings was the thing I will never forget.

Michelin