Villa Monteux

English translation

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History

The Monteux villa at Texonière is located on the commune of Saint-Martin-Terressus, behind the Taurion valley and overlooking a wide panorama that extends as far as the Ambazac hills. It was built for Maurice Monteux (1882-1963), in the years 1932-1934, according to plans by the Limoges-born architect Pierre Chabrol (1881-1967). The building is an ample dwelling constructed in concrete, with two very open V-shaped wings articulated around a small central rotunda to the west. The sobriety of the construction clearly fits within the modernist current, but the development in length and the rigorous symmetry that governs the whole belong to a neo-classical conception. The main façade, to the east, contrasts the vertical design of elongated bays, uniting the two residential storeys, with the emphasized horizontality of the west façade, softened by the curves of the plan, where the terrace and continuous balcony, extended in pergolas on the upper storey, invite one to enjoy the view and light. The interior layout is commanded by a grand hall in the Italian manner animated by two pairs of bevelled concrete arches, supporting the ceiling. It is crossed by a gallery on circular pillars. Details of arrangement (central round room, solid wooden doors with moulded framing, ironwork, parquet floors) bring discreet touches of elegance. A small entrance pavilion, originally a garage and servants' dwelling, has been converted into a residence. Despite the opening of French doors, its external appearance is relatively intact. This realisation is visibly inspired by luxurious contemporary schemes, and particularly by villas designed by Louis Süe (1875-1968) for Parisian personalities from the world of fashion and entertainment in the 1920s, and who also worked for the Monteux family, notably for Gaston, the father, creator of one of the most important French shoe-manufacturing enterprises. Preserved in its original fittings, this villa appears to be a good testimony to provincial Art Deco achievements in the Limoges region. The comfort facilities inside even already present an almost archaeological interest. The biography of Pierre Chabrol is still very poorly documented, although one has a fairly comprehensive catalogue of his achievements. He appears to have received his architectural training at a school of decorative arts. The 11-hectare park surrounding the villa is attributed by family tradition to Robert Lepeu, landscape gardener and horticulturist of Limoges. Located on a gently sloping western slope, it is composed according to two main axes centred on the villa which remains visible from everywhere: a north-south axis comprising the approach path from the keeper's house and a lime tree avenue terminated by a portico and a tennis court; an east-west axis punctuated by a roundabout forming a viewing point around a water tank, a staircase with double ramp flanking a cascade now dried up and replaced by plantings, and a fountain in the terracing wall forming a base in front of the house. The well-maintained paths constitute promenades through edges and woodland. This last one crosses an English stream and a small body of water on a concrete footbridge without railings, with refined lines. An aerial photograph, shortly after construction, shows an arc of flower beds in front of the house. Although certain improvements to this park were carried out in the style of the 1930s, the whole was nevertheless conceived in the tradition of landscape gardens as encountered in Limousin.