Immeuble, ancien hôtel particulier Desmarets

English translation

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History

The mansion built for Jacques Coquet, treasurer of France, at the end of 1639 can now be attributed with certainty to Pierre Le Muet. It is one of the models of mansions published in Les Augmentations à l'Art de bien bâtir by Le Muet. This mansion comprised two buildings, one on the courtyard and the other between courtyard and garden with two small projecting cabinets onto the garden and a return wing on the street. It was sold to François Catelan, adviser to the king, who chose in 1659 Jacques and Libéral Bruant to enlarge the mansion by extending the building on the courtyard, raising the existing buildings and rebuilding a great stone staircase with two suspended flights. Two ceilings from the first half of the 17th century decorate rooms on the first floor. One of the ceilings registered on the supplementary inventory of historic monuments since 1926 is attributed to Charles Errard. In 1676, the mansion was sold to Nicolas Desmarets, nephew of Colbert, who had a complete renovation of the mansion carried out. Works were also executed throughout the 18th century; a new staircase, still in place, equipped with a beautiful wrought iron railing was then constructed in 1750. After various occupations and transformations, this office building must be rehabilitated. The removal of false ceilings allowed the discovery of beams, old joinery as well as remarkable ceilings.