Chaumont: Art, Gardens, and Flea Markets

When Catherine de Medici kicked Diane de Poitier out of Chenonceau and over to Chateau de Chaumont, following Henri II’s death, the king’s mistress could have done much worse. Sitting at one of the highest points in the valley, the first castle was built there in the 11th C. by Eudes II, a count of Blois, to protect himself from the powerful counts of Anjou. The high point along the Loire would have been an excellent point to defend lands further east and Louis XI was not entirely out of place ordering the first castle razed to the ground after Pierre d’Amboise revolted against him. The lands west of Chaumont were tumultuously held during the best of times. He awarded the land and allowed a new castle to be built by the Governor of Ile de la Cite (Paris and extent of the French kingdom for the most part was confined to the region Ile de France at the time), Charles I d’Amboise. Finished by his son, Charles II d’Amboise de Chaumont, the castle still retained elements of its fortress past but was mostly restyled with renaissance charm for the castle and the grounds. Unfortunately, during her brief stay, Diane de Poitier did not find the grounds to her liking and moved on to her last residence further north at Chateau d'Anet.

But enough about history! Chaumont, today, has reinvented itself as a major center of the gardening world with an institute and annual festival each summer celebrating the combination of art and plants to create our own ideals of beauty in the outdoors. Inside the chateau, there is quite a bit of emphasis on Diane de Poitier’s time at the castle, though it was clearly the briefest. I would venture a guess that the period she lived there was harmonious to the presentation of the castle’s exterior and it does make for a pleasant visit through the restored rooms. As always, many of these castles have the hard choice of embracing a particular period though many of them were used and reused by private holders or the state for a variety of purposes.

The castle sits on the bluff high above the town of Chaumont and overlooks the Loire Valley with excellent views east, north, and west. Since it is summer, the international garden festival is in full swing. The castle is currently displaying an outdoor exposition of Art and Nature in the park. In particular, I was struck by the installations of Rainer Gross, Francois Mechain, Deidi von Schaewen, and the joint installation of Dimitri Xenakis and Maro Avrabou. As you enter the gardens from the lower entrance, you can see these cyclones of dark wood. Rainer Gross has fashioned them to be like the rooftops of the towers at Chaumont, but blown over across the grounds to symbolize the fragility of power and the constant change of the world. Francois Mechain’s installation is whimsical in the ladders that hang from various branches of a single tree on the grounds yet none ever reach the ground completely. Deidi von Schaewen presents large prints of her photos taken from all over the world of sacred trees made into small temples by cults. Xenakis and Avrabou play with gilded frames and plastic canvas to create paintings of light and color that shift with the changing of nature upon the grounds. The 14 total installations in the park are on display through 31 December 2009.

Inside the chateau, besides the well preserved interior chapel and rooms, are two installations that continue the theme of art and nature sharing the same space. I was introduce to the dynamic outdoor installations of Nils Udo through a photography exposition installed in the lower galleries. His installations embrace the movement of nature and its natural relationship with art. The Udo exposition is on display until 31 August 2009. Udo has an additional installation in the park entitled Gulliver’s Forest that plays with perspective in nature and gardens. The galleries upon each floor host in part a sculpture exposition installed by Jannis Kounellis that is unique and original at the commission of the Centre Region. It is Kounellis’ superb effort to capture the dynamic history of the chateau over time through a variety of sculptures that speak to all walks of life that have graced the chateau over time. Kounellis’ work is on display through Summer 2011.

The center piece of outdoor activities at Chaumont is its annual International Garden Festival. Artists are invited annually (and many return annually) to install gardens based upon a theme. This year’s theme is simply stated as Color. For some artists that turned into tackling presenting a true black in the garden when there is no truly black plant. For others, such as Voir Rouge it was a riotous and brutal tour de force in a single color. Perhaps my favorite was Ultra-Violet a multicolored garden that you explored first with your eyes, then were led through a blackout tunnel, and then viewed the garden anew through an installation of colored lenses. It was playful and whimsical while at the same time questioning of how we alter the view of the natural world. I would speak more of the gardens, but I hope that the photos in the gallery linked below allow the gardens to speak (even if through my camera’s lens) for themselves.

Chaumont seems to be a tidy corner of the valley that we pass through frequently. A Slow Travel friend who lives near St. Aignan, Ken, and his partner, Walt, were telling us how the grounds to the chateau used to be open and free to the public not that long ago. It has only been recently that they have moved the gates down to the street level and required admission at the upper entry gate. I could see where this is a ripple in local life! Such a beautiful area that was once left open to the public, now requiring a steep but worthwhile admission fee (15E/person in 2009), would leave a slightly bitter taste in my mouth as well.

During our last pass through Chaumont, at the advisement of our hosts, we took a moment to visit the town’s flea market. It was of a good size with a variety of vendors. I was not looking for any rare or prized deals, but did find four iron keys from the 18th century that I plan on using in some decor in the master bedroom when I get home. I did not use my brutish Beijing-learned bargaining skills, but I at least got myself a 25% discount for buying in bulk after a few minutes of dickering in French (and unfortunately English which didn’t help lower the price and emboldened the dealer).

Chaumont