Ancien café le Sébastopol

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Ministère de la Culture, in French. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Ministère de la Culture; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

History

The room of the former café Le Sébastopol is decorated with murals depicting episodes from the Crimean War and oriental scenes. This work, which is believed to have been executed around 1856, at the request of the café proprietor, a former Crimean War combatant, is an interesting example of popular decorative schemes of the 19th century. The building housing the former café Le Sébastopol is situated on the edge of the village's main square. The front façade opens westward onto the square. It comprises three bays of windows over three storeys. The ground floor is pierced by three doors crowned with a round arch with a key in the form of an escutcheon. A string course runs at the level of the lintels. The first-floor windows are rectangular and surmounted by a drip moulding. Three baluster ornaments are set within square niches in the sill panels. A string course runs at the height of the window sills. The top storey is lit by windows with simple stone frames. Above the central window of this storey and below the roof cornice is a stone bearing a Masonic inscription framed by a compass and square: A L (a) G (lory) O (f) G (reat) A (rchitect) O (f) T (he Universe) Preserved. The ground floor was, until recently, a ballroom. The café room occupies the first floor. The walls are covered with murals executed in distemper over a wainscot. They illustrate, principally, the Crimean War. These paintings were covered with wallpaper until recently revealed by the proprietor. The decoration of the south wall consists of seven panels whose juxtaposition is interrupted by a wooden casing that houses the staircase access. The first panel, starting from the east end, depicts, against a background of trees, a senior officer wearing a chéchia. The second panel shows a two-masted ship sailing in a bay. The third panel presents a figure from the early 17th century wearing a broad felt hat adorned with plumes and a red cape. The fourth panel consists of floral garlands interspersed with a bird and a winged head. The fifth panel depicts the bust of a general officer. The sixth panel is devoted to a landscape evoking the Bosphorus seen from a shore where Orientals are standing. The seventh panel shows a combat scene. A Zouave has just captured a Russian flag surmounted by a double-headed eagle. The decoration of the west wall extends over the wall panels and piers separating the windows. On the wall panel at the south end, the first panel concerns a hunting scene. On the following pier, the second panel consists of two green curtains opening onto a moulded wooden frame. The central decoration framed by garlands of roses has disappeared. In the lower third of this frame is placed a mirror. Above is painted on the wall a scene showing two Europeans in a landscape where a oriental city with its minarets rises in the distance. The third panel illustrates a naval battle between Russian and French ships. The fourth and final panel is devoted, like the first, to a hunting scene. The decoration of the north wall consists of five panels. The first panel, at the west end, depicts a female figure holding a riding crop, in dress and surcoat, wearing a bonnet, evoking the 16th or 17th century. The second panel, at the centre of the wall, shows in the foreground a Scottish officer wearing a long jacket, narrow striped trousers and boots. This panel is separated from the following one by a narrow band decorated with rose garlands with at its centre a medallion showing houses and a church beside a river. The third panel illustrates a group of senior officers on a shore, while in the foreground is represented an English paddle-wheel boat. A narrow panel decorated with rose garlands also separates this panel from the following one. At the centre is painted a medallion showing buildings with towers at the water's edge. Below the panels of the north wall runs a continuous band decorated with arabesques and small silhouetted figures. The fourth panel shows two figures on horseback dressed in a coat, wearing boots and breeches as well as a toque adorned with a plume. The fifth and final panel of the north wall shows a cuirassier partially obscured by a cumulus. This rider appears to be French with his blue jacket with red cuffs. On the east side, a partition created a back room lit by a window opening onto a light well. This partition, which was then wallpapered, was destroyed along with the paintings it bore. Only the two wall panels remain. The first panel at the north end depicts a hunting scene. The second panel, on the south side, shows an oriental garden. From the window of the back room is visible the north wall of the light well. This still bears traces of decoration showing a combat between Russian infantry and French soldiers.