Hôtel Poivrel

English translation

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History

The hôtel Poivrel stands at the corner of a recently laid out intersection in the south-west of the lower city of Rennes, in a peripheral sector historically occupied by industries. Built in 1901 for Joseph Poivrel, important Rennes masonry contractor and regular collaborator of Emmanuel Le Ray, the hôtel manifests the proprietor's membership of a rising bourgeoisie. It displays its financial opulence in a neighbourhood which ignores this architectural typology, conventionally reserved for the surroundings of the Thabor garden. Marked by asymmetry and an eclectic decorative vocabulary mingling medieval and Renaissance references, the anterior façade clearly expresses the internal functions, recalling the rationalist training of the architect. A few signs of modernity nonetheless appear, underscoring Le Ray's knowledge of Belgian, Nancy and Parisian innovations. More perceptible in the unusual internal distribution, and in the abundant lighting of the house by the large central stained-glass window, this modernity resembles the Art Nouveau movement, timidly represented in Rennes. Thus, combining the legacy of the 19th century and the innovative contributions of the turn of the century, the hôtel Poivrel holds a quite particular place in the corpus of Emmanuel Le Ray's private works. More broadly, it also constitutes a significant architectural and decorative milestone in domestic housing of the Belle Époque in Rennes.