Informations directionnelles
Se diriger vers le bourg en laissant deux ruelles sur la droite. Prendre à gauche avant le parking pour passer sous la voie ferrée. En sortant du « tunnel », découvrir le panneau sur les ruines du Château Gaillard.
Prochain point : lat="49.15884" lon="1.93631"
FONDATION DUFRAINE
Académie des Beaux Arts
A fine house…
This striking and beautiful house with its slate mansard roof was built either at the end of the 18th or early in the 19th century and is listed on the Napoleonic land registry of 1830. The main house extends over two stories and a loft space. Light comes in through the many windows and skylights placed symmetrically around the structure. In the early years of the 20th century, the property housed an orphanage, “La Villa des Pinsons”. The villa also includes several outbuildings, a park and vegetable garden on both sides of the road.
…converted into an artists’ residence
Louis Dufraine was an art lover. When he made his will on 14 September 1942, he bequeathed the villa to the Académie des Beaux-Arts as an artists’ residence. The academy wasted no time and in the 1950s it opened its doors to artists.
It was initially intended for artists at the late stages of their career to give them the space to nurture and develop their practice. The criteria changed with the times to welcome artists of all ages. La Villa des Pinsons now has the capacity to offer residencies to 15 artists at any one time, working in diverse disciplines (painting, sculpture, etching, drawing, etc.). The facilities include the outbuildings, which have been converted into artists’ studios.
