The Parthey Foundation

The Parthey Foundation - History

2006 Summer Seminars

Images

The Parthey foundation was established in 2000 in order to preserve a cultural legacy.
The chateau was built on a crossroads of european cultures that continues to this day.

The foundations date back to the Bronze age when area was Celtic. A temple dedicated to a Celtic fertility goddess stood on the site of a sacred spring nearby, and recently Roman swords and shields have been unearthed nearby.

The building itself progresses through all different eras: Roman and the Middle Ages until the present day. The oldest part of the house, the tower, was erected in 1350.

The form of the house has shifted over time, becoming a tapestry of many historical periods. The Tarragon-Valdahon family has occupied the house for the last two centuries, and the current Viollet-le-duc architecture dates from the 19th century.

The Count of Valdahon was a grand patron of the arts and created a style contemporary for the time, as well as investing the property with a 50 acre classical english style park containing the stately sequoia, ginkos, and cypresses, and garden follies that grace the landscape today.

The legacy of artists at Parthey begins with the Marquis Jules de Valdahon , a noted painter of his time. His large-scale work, dating from the mid 19th century, can still be seen in the large gothic cathedral of Dole nearby. His daughter, the Marquise de Fresquiennes, held artistic salons in Parthey in the summer. Noted guests included the writer Georges Sand, and Clesinger. The painters Corot and Redoute gave painting lessons. Courbet, hailing from a town nearby, would often stop in.