Jeanne-Antoinette, or Madame de Pompadour was born in 1721 in Paris. Introduced young enough to the royal court, she was spotted by King Louis XV and became his lover in title, from 1745 to 1751. She was also the monarch’s adviser and remained his favourite until his passing. — Louis XV had her set up the Petit Trianon as his private residence and offered her the domain of Pompadour, which allowed his mistress to become a marquise and acquire a noble status. Her bourgeois origins easily attracted criticism from the upper aristocracy.

Some fairy tales are so finely woven that one is in awe by their plots and storylines; and their narrative is so well-conducted that we can no longer sort out the real from the chimerical in their details. Liudmila Menager’s award-winning story is no exception to this rule. — Splendidly illustrated and written, “Princess and the Beast” renders all the letters of nobility to that good old culture of French women of letters known as “salonnières”. Those enthusiast ladies of salons entirely dedicated to literature, bringing together socialites and lovers of fine arts, through a beautiful spirit and refined…

Built in the 15th century on the banks of the Odet river, the Lanniron is surrounded by a vast park, an outstanding French garden and remarkable ponds, including the “Neptune” tidal pool. — The Lanniron Castle was the former summer residence of the bishops of Cornouaille. It is located in Quimper, Brittany (France) and it has been classified as a historical monument since May 6, 1988 and since December 23, 1992.

The castle of Trévarez is located in Saint-Goazec, Brittany, France. Built at the end of the 19th century by James de Kerjégu, it is, with its public park, a major French gem. — The Trévarez is both an epitome of the eclectic style, allying Victorian and neo-Gothic styles with an enthralling Breton Touch, and a prototype of the residence equipped with nowadays technological advances: elevator, central heating, running water, electricity. Its wrought iron door, by Achille Busson, was also exhibited and awarded a…

Kerjean is an enthralling castle in Saint-Vougay, in the French department of Finistère. It is listed as a historical monument by the decree of April 29, 1911. Such a healing overview. — Testimony of a thriving Brittany, the fortress of Kerjean is one of the most beautiful examples of Renaissance style architecture in the country of Leon. Kerjean Castle belongs to the State-Ministry of Culture. The EPCC ‘Chemin du patrimoine en Finistère’ manages its opening to the public.

The castle of Vitré is a powerful fortification located at the western end of the fortified town of Vitré, in Ille-et-Vilaine, on the steps of French Brittany. — Established on a rocky spur in the second part of the 11th century by Robert I of Vitré, the Château de Vitré was rebuilt and enlarged at the beginning of the 13th century on a triangular plan that was never altered. It is guarded by high curtain walls and flanked…

Anatole Le Braz, a French citizen from Saint-Servais, stays the advocate of the humble. And a great collector of tales and legends. — Retrospective. Back to 1893. Penholder of the modest class, spokesman of the confidences collected in Breton at the corner of the hearth, Anatole Le Braz holds a remarkable role in the history of literature. He played a double function: he was a major collector of tales in front of the…

“The landing of Madame de Sévigné in Lorient” is a true fact. However, the port painted by Pierre Cadre (1884–1972) is the fruit of Cadre’s fiction. — Pierre Cadre is a Pontyvian artist who revived the colorful and exotic myth of the ‘Compagnie des Indes’ in a canvas. On August 11, 1689, the Marquise de Sévigné landed in Lorient from Port-Louis. She wrote to her daughter, Mme de Grignan: “We left the next day (…) in a…

Tanguy chose to abolish apparent reality to replace it with interior scenery which are precise descriptions in which nothing, however, is identifiable. — Born in 1900, the self-taught painter had often visited Brittany in the summer. In 1923. Although he had never touched a paintbrush, his vocation as a painter became obvious when he discovered a work by Chirico, “Le cerveau de lenfant” (The Child’s Brain) in…