Le vestibule d'honneur

Lately, Chantilly was the set of the wedding of Jean d’Orléans to Philomena de Tornos in spring 2009.  The demesne of Chantilly (see here a short video clip), one of the finest set of the History of France, is actually reviving.

Château de Chantilly

The château de Chantilly and the incredible collections of ancient paintings (by Raphaël, Philippe de Champaigne, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Nicolas Poussin, Antoine Watteau, Eugène Delacroix, etc.) - which is the second largest collection after the one of the Louvre –  the parc and gardens designed at the XVIIth century by the landscape architect of Versailles, André Le Nôtre, embody the passionate and eventful history on the 7,8009 hectares of the domain of Chantilly.

The duc d’Aumale, Henri d’Orléans (1822–1897), was the last owner of the estate of Chantilly. In 1830, being the son of the king Louis-Philippe he inherited the estate from his great-uncle, the Prince de Condé.  He rebuilt the castle on the pre-existing foundations to the designs of the architect Honoré Daumet.

In 1884 having no direct heir, through the Foundation des Princes de Condé he bequeathed the property of Chantilly to the Institut de France subjected to open the museum of Condé to the public.

In his testatment, he wrote:

« Voulant conserver à la France le domaine de Chantilly dans son intégrité, avec ses bois, [...], ses édifices et ce qu’ils contiennent, trophées, tableaux, livres, archives, objets d’art, tout cet ensemble qui forme comme un monument complet et varié de l’art français dans toutes ses branches et de l’histoire de ma patrie à des époques de gloire, j’ai résolu d’en confier le dépôt à un corps illustre [...] qui, sans se soustraire aux transformations inévitables des sociétés, échappe à l’esprit de faction, comme aux secousses trop brusques, conservant son indépendance au milieu des fluctuations politiques. »

Le cabinet des livres

The safeguarding and protection of the large domain is maintained thanks to the various (french and foreign) sponsorships and patronages whether they are associations, private individuals or companies like: the American Friends of Chantilly, World Monument Fund, Association de défense de l’environnement de Vineuil-Saint-Firmin, his Highness the prince Aga Khan, Mme Cino del Duca, Inner Wheel, Rotary Club, Friends of French Art de Los Angeles, American Express, BNP Paribas or even the printery E. Grille in Chantilly.

View of the north facade of the castle of chantilly

The Prince Aga Khan along with the writer and académicien Erik Orsenna were the guests of the documentary on Chantilly, Des Racines et des Ailes, broadcasted by France 3 on the 28th of October 2009.

Four reportages were made on the just being restored gardens, the castle and the stables and Zanzibar.

The whole documentary is being uploaded and therefore soon available on the youtube channel.