Editing Château de Montsoreau

{{Short description|Castle in Loire Valley, France}}
{{COI|date=July 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox building
| name                = Château de Montsoreau
| native_name_lang    = fr
| former_names        = 
| status              = 
| image               = Chateau-montsoreau-france-unesco.jpg
| image_alt           = 
| image_size          = 
| caption             = Château de Montsoreau, [[Loire Valley]].
| location            = [[Montsoreau]]<br/>[[Maine-et-Loire]]<br/>France
| address             = Château de Montsoreau<br/>49730 Montsoreau<br/>France
| coordinates         = {{coord|region:FR|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| start_date          = 1443
| completion_date     = 1515
| architect           =
| website             = {{Official website|http://www.chateau-montsoreau.com/wordpress/en/the-place/the-chateau/}}
| map_type            = France
| map_alt             = 
| map_caption         = Location of the [[Château de Montsoreau-Museum of Contemporary Art]], France.
| embedded            = {{designation list | embed=yes
  | designation1=WHS
  | designation1_offname=The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes, previously inscribed as Chateau and Estate of Chambord
  | designation1_date = 2000 <small>(24th [[World Heritage Committee|session]])</small>
  | designation1_type = Cultural
  | designation1_criteria = i, ii, vi
  | designation1_number = [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/933 933]
  | designation1_free1name = Region
  | designation1_free1value = [[List of World Heritage Sites in Europe|Europe]]
}}
| architectural_style = [[Flamboyant]] Gothic, [[French Renaissance architecture|French Renaissance]]
| current_tenants     = [[Philippe Méaille]]
| height              = 45m
}}

The '''Château de Montsoreau''' is a [[Flamboyant Gothic]] castle<ref>{{cite web |title=Anjou-Département du Maine-et-Loire|url=http://culture.maine-et-loire.fr/le-patrimoine/proprietes-departementales/le-chateau-de-montsoreau/|publisher= culture.maine-et-loire.fr|date=2001}}</ref> in the [[Loire Valley]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Page d'été : Découvrez Montsoreau|url=http://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/pays-de-la-loire/2014/07/07/page-dete-decouvrez-montsorau-un-chateau-les-pieds-dand-leau-513207.html|website= france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr|date=2014}}</ref> directly built in the Loire<ref>{{cite web|title=Château de Montsoreau|url=http://parangone.fr/2017/05/28/art-et-fleuve/|publisher=parangone.fr|language=fr|date=28 May 2017|access-date=11 August 2017|archive-date=28 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728165818/http://parangone.fr/2017/05/28/art-et-fleuve/|url-status=dead}}</ref>  riverbed. It is located in the market town of [[Montsoreau]], in the [[Maine-et-Loire]] ''[[Departments of France|département]]'' of France, close to [[Saumur]], [[Chinon]], [[Fontevraud-l'Abbaye]], and [[Candes-Saint-Martin]]. The Château de Montsoreau is situated at the confluence of two rivers, the [[Loire]] and the [[Vienne (river)|Vienne]], and the meeting point of three historical regions: [[Duchy of Anjou|Anjou]], Poitou, and [[Touraine]]. It is the only [[Châteaux of the Loire Valley|château of the Loire Valley]] built directly in the [[Loire]] riverbed.{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}}

A [[Gallo-Roman culture|Gallo-Roman]] origin has been verified for the settlement of Montsoreau but not confirmed for the castle, even though a fluted column made of stone from a Gallo-Roman temple or a public building was found in the moat during the restoration works of the end of the 20th century. The first written sources are from the 6th century with the domain of Restis, but it was only with the construction of a [[Fortification|fortress]] at the end of the 10th century that the market town began to become prosperous.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Congrès Archéologique de France|last=Litoux|first=Emmanuel|publisher=Société Française d'Archéologie|year=2003|pages=255}}</ref> One part of this first castle was found during the same restoration works by the archaeologists.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Congrès Archéologique de France|last=Prigent|first=Dominique|publisher=Société Française d'Archéologie|year=2003|pages=256}}</ref> The castle was reconstructed in a Flamboyant Gothic style between 1450 and 1460 by Jean de Chambes, one of the kingdom's wealthiest men, a senior councillor and chamberlain to [[Charles VII of France|King Charles VII]] and [[Louis XI of France|King Louis XI]].

The Château de Montsoreau was written about by [[Alexandre Dumas, père|Alexandre Dumas]] in his novel ''[[La Dame de Monsoreau]]'' (1845–1846). This novel is the second part of a trilogy on the Renaissance between ''La Reine Margot'' and ''The Forty-Five Guardsmen''.

Parts of the Château de Montsoreau were listed as a ''[[monument historique]]'' by the [[French Ministry of Culture]] in 1862, 1930, and 1938.<ref name=MinCult>{{Base Mérimée|PA00109211|Château}}</ref> The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes has been inscribed as a [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists|UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] since 30 November 2000.<ref>{{cite web |title=Val de Loire entre Sully-sur-Loire et Chalonnes|url=https://whc.unesco.org/fr/list/933|publisher= whc.unesco.org|language=fr|date=2000}}</ref>

In 2015, the French [[contemporary art]] collector [[Philippe Méaille]] signed with [[:fr:Christian Gillet|Christian Gillet]], president of the French department of the [[Maine-et-Loire]] an [[emphyteutic lease]] of 25 years of the real property of the Château de Montsoreau.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/m-styles/article/2017/05/17/ettore-sottsass-ou-la-liberte-guidant-l-artiste_5129096_4497319.html|title=Ettore Sottsass ou la liberté guidant l'artiste|work=Le Monde.fr|access-date=30 September 2018|language=fr-FR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fiac.com/agenda/autour-de-paris-et-en-france/chateau-de-montsoreau/|title=Chateau de Montsoreau – FIAC|date=23 September 2017|website=fiac.com|language=fr|access-date=30 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930193150/https://www.fiac.com/agenda/autour-de-paris-et-en-france/chateau-de-montsoreau/|archive-date=30 September 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.artpress.com/2016/12/29/art-language-empecheurs-de-tourner-en-rond/chateau-de-montsoreau-copie/|title=chateau-de-montsoreau-copie|website=artpress.com|language=fr-FR|access-date=30 September 2018}}</ref> The Château houses Méaille's collection of the conceptual art collective [[Art & Language]] as a museum named [[Château de Montsoreau-Museum of Contemporary Art]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://news.artnet.com/market/art-language-philippe-meaille-french-chateau-310458|title=Largest Art & Language Collection Finds Home – artnet News|date=23 June 2015|work=artnet News|access-date=29 September 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.marieclaire.fr/maison/ettore-sottsass,1143892.asp|title=Ettore Sottsass, rebelle et poète au pays du design|work=Marie Claire|access-date=30 September 2018|language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.artforum.com/news/french-collector-pulls-loans-from-macba-after-catalonia-referendum-71621|title=French Collector Pulls Loans from MACBA After Catalonia Referendum|website=Artforum|access-date=30 September 2018}}</ref>

== Etymology ==

=== Latin ===
The name Montsoreau first appeared in 1086 on a Latin map as ''Castrum Monte Sorello'' or ''Mons Sorello''. ''Mons'' or ''Monte'' refers to a rocky promontory. The origin and interpretation of the name ''Sorello'' remain unknown but may mean bald or red. Before the fortress was built, an administrative or cult building had already occupied the site since Gallo-Roman times.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

=== Literary ===
In ''[[La Dame de Monsoreau]]'',<ref name="dumaspere.com">{{cite web|language=fr|title=La Dame de Monsoreau|url=http://www.dumaspere.com/pages/dictionnaire/dame_monsoreau.html|publisher=dumaspere.com|year=1998}}</ref> [[Alexandre Dumas]] alludes to the origin of the name of the castle:
{{Blockquote
|text= Ah! My goodness, my lord the Duke of Anjou will wait. This man makes me curious. I suspect he is very special. I don't know why we have these ideas, you know, the first time we meet people I don't know why I think I'll have trouble leaving with him, and then this name, Monsoreau!

– Mount of the mouse, Antraguet continued, this is the etymology: my old abbot learned me this morning: ''Mons Soricis''.
|author=[[Alexandre Dumas]]
|source=''La Dame de Monsoreau'' (1846)
}}

== History ==
=== Middle Ages ===
The first written source describing the site under the name ''Restis'' dates back to the 6th century.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Congrès Archéologique de France|last=Prigent|first=Dominique|publisher=Société Française d'Archéologie|year=2003|location=Paris|pages=255}}</ref> It was transformed into a fortified castle by [[Counts of Blois|Eudes, the First count of Blois]], in 990. In 1001, it was taken by the Anjou realm,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Le comte d'Anjou et son entourage au XIe siècle|last=Guillot |first=Olivier |year=1972|location=Paris |pages=310}}</ref> and [[Fulk III, Count of Anjou|Foulques Nerra]] gave it to Gautier I of Montsoreau. Gautier I belonged to one of the most pre-eminent families of Anjou.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Le comte d'Anjou et son entourage au XIe siècle|last=Guillot |first=Olivier |year=1972|location=Paris |pages=32}}</ref> Thus, the ''Castrum Monsorelli'' became one of the forty fortified castles in Anjou and one of the few to be given the title of lordship at the turn of the year 1000. A town developed quickly near the castle, and in the ''narratio de commendatione Turonice provincie'', edited by Salmon in 1854, the site was mentioned as one of ''oppidis munitissimi et populosis'' by the second half of the 11th century<ref>{{Cite book|title=Le comté d'Anjou sous Henri Plantagenêt et ses fils|last=Boussard |first=Jean |year=1938|location=Paris |pages=11}}</ref> Written sources from the 12th century attested to a right to raise taxes<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Montsoreau : un château, un port|last=Manase|first=Victor|journal=Bull. Soc. Des Amis du Pays Lochois|location=Loches|pages=87–99}}</ref>

When the [[order of Fontevraud]] was settled in 1101, [[Fontevraud Abbey]] was supervised by Gautier de Montsoreau, who took direct orders from the Count of Anjou.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Notice historique sur le château et la commune de Montsoreau|last=Raimbault|publisher=Arch. Départementales du Maine-et-Loire|year=1965|location=Angers|pages=304–314}}</ref> Gautier's stepmother, [[Hersende of Champagne|Hersende de Champagne]], was the first prior and co-founder of the Abbey with [[Robert of Arbrissel|Robert d'Arbrissel]].

Guillaume IV de Montsoreau was on Geoffrey Plantagenet's side against his brother [[Henri II Plantagenet]], the future King of England, and [[Eleanor of Aquitaine]]'s husband. The latter besieged the ''castrum'' and took it at the end of August 1152, despite its fortification.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Les anciens seigneurs de Montsoreau|last=Desme de Chavigny|first=Olivier|year=1888|location=Tours|pages=18}}</ref> He captured Guillaume and his defenders. Guillaume IV, however, was restored to the castle later. An order of King Henry II of England (about 1068) concerning the landscape project of the Loire was signed by Guillaume de Montsoreau and his son Guillaume. In 1171, Guillaume's son gave the Turpenay monks the right to build tax-free houses inside the ''castrum''. Gauthier, his eldest son, had no sons and so the lordship passed to the Savary de Montbazon family, on the marriage of his daughter Ferrie in 1213<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://daniel.derigal.free.fr/Oxygene%202014/n90883.htm|title=Pierre II de Montbazon|last=Derigal|first=Daniel|date=2017|website=daniel.derigal.free.fr|access-date=11 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803161837/http://daniel.derigal.free.fr/Oxygene%202014/n90883.htm|archive-date=3 August 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> to Pierre II Savary de Montbazon, lord of [[Montbazon]].

After his victory at Bouvines, Philippe-Auguste chose him in 1214, with Guy Turpin, archdeacon of Tours, to negotiate peace with King John. The second house of Montsoreau disappeared in 1362, with the wedding of the only daughter of Renaud VII and Guillaume II de Craon.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thierryhelene.bianco.free.fr/drupal/?q=node/88|title=Les sires de Montsoreau|last=Bianco|first=Thierry and Hélène|date=2000|website=thierryhelene.bianco.free.fr}}</ref> The fourth house, one of the Chabot family, lasted only a few decades.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Histoire de la maison royale de France|last=de Sainte-Marie|first=Anselme|publisher=La compagnie des libraires|year=1728|location=Paris|pages=563}}</ref>

In 1450, to pay off debts, Louis II Chabot sold his domains of Montsoreau and Coutancière to his brother-in-law Jean II de Chambes,<ref>Jean II de Chambes épouse Jeanne Chabot, première dame d'honneur de la reine, le 17 mars 1445</ref> who undertook to rebuild the castle at Montsoreau.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=UNESCO|date=22 May 2017|title=Charles VII et Louis XI|url=http://www.valdeloire.org/Connaitre/Au-fil-de-l-histoire/Le-Val-de-Loire-siege-du-pouvoir-royal/Charles-VII-et-Louis-XI|website=valdeloire.org}}</ref> A descendant of Angoumois old noble family (near the city of Angoulême), Jean II de Chambes began in [[Charles VII of France|Charles VII]] service as an esquire in 1426,<ref name="bachelier.free.fr">{{Cite web|url=http://g.bachelier.free.fr/chambes.htm|title=Chambes|last=Bachelier|date=2000|website=bachelier.free.fr}}</ref> the years before the interview between the King and [[Joan of Arc|Jeanne d'Arc]] in the [[Château de Chinon|Castle of Chinon]]. Baker in chief, Councillor and Chamberlain, he became in 1444 "first master of ostel" of the King;<ref name="bachelier.free.fr" /> at the same time he associated with [[Jacques Cœur|Jacques Coeur]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Les affaires de Jacques Coeur, journal du procureur Dauvet|last=Mollat|first=M.|year=1952|location=Paris|pages=483, 618}}</ref> Jean II de Chambes received a considerable amount of money that was owed to him.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://racineshistoire.free.fr/LGN/PDF/Craon.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://racineshistoire.free.fr/LGN/PDF/Craon.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Jean II de Chambes|date=2001|website=geneanet}}</ref> He performed diplomatic missions as an ambassador to [[Venice]] in 1459 to prepare a new crusade.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Dictionnaire de biographie française|last=du Romant d'Amat|first=Prévost|year=1959|location=Paris|pages=243}}</ref> His lordships of Montsoreau and Argenton, but also his governorship of La Rochelle and Lord Provost and Captain of Niort, Talmont-sur-Gironde and Aigues-Mortes assured him revenues.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://g.bachelier.free.fr/chambes.htm|title=De Chambes|last=Bachelier|date=12 February 2005|website=bachelier.free.fr}}</ref>

=== Modern times ===
[[File:© Dominique Drouet-Montsoreau .jpg|thumb|The Château de Montsoreau along the Loire river]]
From 1450 to 1460, {{Ill|Jean II de Chambes|fr|Jean II de Chambes}} played a role as ambassador, and was called out of Anjou, while the castle was being built. His political and financial influence rose during these years including his closeness to Charles VII. Closer to [[Charles VII of France|Charles VII]] than [[Louis XI]], Jean II de Chambes gradually withdrew from politics from 1461.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Congrès Archéologique de France|last=Prigent|first=Dominique|publisher=Société d'Archéologie Française|year=2003|location=Paris|pages=256}}</ref>

Jean III de Chambes succeeded his father, who died in 1473 and married Marie de Chateaubriant, who founded in 1519 the Holy Cross Collegiate Church across<ref>{{Cite book|title=Congrès Archéologique de France|last=Litoux|first=Emmanuel|publisher=Société Française d'Archéologie|year=2003|location=Paris|pages=256}}</ref> the moat surrounding the castle. In 1530, Philippe de Chambes, who lived in Montsoreau, married Anne de Laval-Montmorency. His eldest son, {{Ill|Jean VI de Chambes|fr|Jean VI de Chambes}} inherited the field of Coutancière and saw his lands made up into a barony in 1560.

Montsoreau was sacked by the Protestants in 1568. The Holy Cross Collegiate and the fortifications of the city were destroyed. Four years later, Jean VI de Chambes acquitted himself in the organisation of the "[[St. Bartholomew's Day massacre|Saint Bartholomew]] Angevine<ref name="thierryhelene.bianco.free.fr">{{Cite web|url=http://thierryhelene.bianco.free.fr/drupal/?q=node/88|title=Les sires de Montsoreau|last=Bianco|first=Thierry et Hélène|date=2000|publisher=thierryhelene.bianco.free.fr}}</ref>" in Saumur and Angers. His Barony was confirmed by Letters Patent in 1573 and 1575.<ref name="thierryhelene.bianco.free.fr" />

After his death in 1575, his brother Charles de Chambes became Count of Montsoreau and the following year he married [[Françoise de Maridor]], whose name was attached to the murder of [[Louis de Bussy d'Amboise]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=La véritable histoire de la dame de Montsoreau|last=Levron|first=J.|publisher=Chapelon|year=1938|location=Paris}}</ref>

Garrisons of seventy warriors lived in the castle in the course of the last decade of the 16th century.<ref>{{Cite book|title=La garnison du château de Montsoreau|last=Seignan|first=M.|publisher=Bull. Soc. Lettres, Sci. et Arts du Saumurois|year=1922|location=Saumur|pages=15–19}}</ref> This ceased to exist during the reign of [[Louis XIII]], and René de Chambes sought a garrison of royal troops but was refused by [[Cardinal Richelieu|Richelieu]]. As a counterfeiter, he was sentenced to death and had to flee to England and was never able to return. After the death of his successor Bernard de Chambes, the castle of Montsoreau was rarely occupied by its various owners. The eldest daughter of Bernard de Chambes married Louis Francis Bouchet, who died in 1716,<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Dictionnaire Géographique, Historique et Politique des Gaules et de la France|last=L'abbé Expilly|publisher=Edition scientifiques Royales|year=1770|location=Paris|pages=867}}</ref> leaving 400,000 ''livres'' of debts. His eldest son Louis I de Bouchet, married Jeanne Pocholle Hamel<ref name=":0" /> who brought a 200,000 ''livres'' dowry.

=== Contemporary period ===
[[File:Chateau de Montsoreau Museum of contemporary art.jpg|thumb|left|Aerial view of the castle]]The widow of Louis Francois II de Bouchet Sourches, Marquis of Tourzel, sold the château and what remained of the domain of Montsoreau after 1804. Following the sale of the property, the building was occupied by 19 different homeowners who reshaped the site. The external condition of the main building is known through various representations and descriptions made in the second half of the nineteenth century, which reflect the disrepair of the property.<ref>Significant views of the château before restoration : A.D. Maine-et-Loire, Coll. Icon. Célestin Port, Carton 27</ref> By 1910, the château had deteriorated and this moved the members of the French Archaeological Society ({{Ill|French Archaeological Society|lt=Société Française d'Archéologie|fr|Société française d'archéologie}}). Senator Geoffre asked the [[Maine et Loire]] department General Council to intervene. The department gradually acquired each property after 1913, Restoration works were undertaken in 1923 and continued until the [[Second World War]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.maine-et-loire.fr/conseil-departemental/grands-projets/soutien-des-sites-patrimoniaux-majeurs/montsoreau/|title=Le château de Montsoreau|date=2016|website=Conseil départemental du Maine-et-Loire|access-date=12 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728211415/http://www.maine-et-loire.fr/conseil-departemental/grands-projets/soutien-des-sites-patrimoniaux-majeurs/montsoreau/|archive-date=28 July 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

After a new programme of restoration between 1997 and 2001, the château opened to visitors on 6 July 2001 with a ''[[Son et lumière (show)|son-et-lumiere]]'' entitled "The Imaginaries of Loire" which attracted about 35,000 visitors a year.

In June 2015, the Maine and Loire council leased the Château to [[Philippe Méaille]], to create the [[Château de Montsoreau-Museum of Contemporary Art]] which opened to the public in April 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mutualart.com/Article/Combining-Past--Present-and-Future--The-/DCC6DC54DE5810EF|title=Combining Past, Present and Future: The Contemporary Art Museum at Château de Montsoreau|website=Mutual Art}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-collector-turned-15th-century-french-castle-contemporary-art-destination|title=The Collector Who Turned a 15th-Century French Castle into a Contemporary Art Destination|last=Chernick|first=Karen|date=20 September 2019|website=Artsy|language=en|access-date=23 October 2019}}</ref> Its collection holds artworks by the [[Art & Language]] group, and organizes temporary shows, conferences and symposia.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=de Montjoie|first=Daisy|date=25 June 2016|title=Philippe Méaille installe sa collection au Château de Montsoreau|url=https://www.connaissancedesarts.com/art-contemporain/philippe-meaille-installe-sa-collection-au-chateau-de-montsoreau-1126444/|journal=Connaissance des Arts}}<br/>- {{Cite journal|last=Gleadell|first=Colin|date=23 June 2015|title=Largest Collection of Radical Conceptualists Art & Language Finds a Home in a French Château|url=https://news.artnet.com/market/art-language-philippe-meaille-french-chateau-310458|journal=Artnet News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hyperallergic.com/522074/chateau-de-montsoreau-museum-of-contemporary-art-art-and-language/|title=A Historic Conceptual Art Group Has Taken Over a French Château|date=14 October 2019|website=Hyperallergic|language=en-US|access-date=23 October 2019}}</ref>

== Geography: the site and its natural environment  ==
=== Situation ===
The Château de Montsoreau is located at the convergence of two rivers, the Loire and the Vienne, and the intersection of three historical political regions [[Duchy of Anjou|Anjou]], Poitou and [[Touraine]]. It is situated in a nationally protected region, the Loire-Anjou-Touraine Regional Nature Park.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

The castle was built into the bed of the Loire River, at the foot of the hillside, in [[tufa]] – the local bedrock, still visible in many places. Many local properties are built from this stone and there are many local houses built into the hillsides, and in the local caves. Its topographic position is said to be militarily impregnable, as it is located between two small valleys on a plateau of some thirty hectares with steep slopes to the east and the west.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Congrès Archéologique de France|last=Litoux|first=Emmanuel|publisher=Société Française d'Archéologie|year=2003|location=Paris|pages=257}}</ref>

== Architecture ==
=== Description ===
Jean II de Chambes built the Château de Montsoreau in 1455. The building marks the transition from military architecture to architecture for pleasure, as shown by the large windows, the numerous chimneys, and the attention paid to sanitation problems. The castle's central dwelling was built directly on the banks of the Loire. Unusually, two right-angled wings, looking like two square towers framing the main building, were built a few years later, at a time when round towers were usually built. This odd choice prefigures the corner pavilions of classical architecture. A spiral staircase probably existed before the current Renaissance staircase.

The ground floor and courtyard side cellars permit control of navigation on the Loire. One of those rooms has direct access to the river. The main staircase on the left side leads to the ground floor dwelling and to the first floor salon. This very bright room, lit by five windows and with a length of seventeen metres, is heated by two monumental chimneys.

Small rooms surround the dwelling and show the transition between public and private areas. In 1473, Jean III de Chambes succeeded his father. He built a Renaissance staircase tower with a polygonal shaft topped by a terrace. The steps lead to an eight-wedged palmtree-shaped vault, quite similar to those found in [[Angers]]’ Barrault dwelling and [[Saumur]]’s town hall. The stairs are decorated by [[pilaster]]s bordering the windows; medallions, putti and candelabra carried by lion's paws.

A central panel shows a helmet bearing the family's motto "''Chambe Crie''". The register above represents two monkeys holding the end of a chain. This chain is fixed around a loop belt under which is inscribed "''Je le feray''". At the other extreme of the chain, an ovoid object embellished by a leaf decoration is suspended through a hoop. A little monkey is crouching down the hoop's left side. The upper panel is carved with trees and branches representing a coppice in front of which stand a deer, the chief symbol of the hunt.

== The Château de Montsoreau in the Arts ==
=== Visual arts ===
[[File:William Turner rem high res.jpg|thumb|228x228px|[[Joseph Mallord William Turner]]]]

==== Joseph Mallord William Turner ====
In October 1826, [[J. M. W. Turner|William Turner]] spent a short stay on the banks of the Loire and took twenty-one views of the river. He painted the château de Montsoreau and surrounding scenery.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lanouvellerepublique.fr/blois/les-aquarelles-de-loire-de-william-turner|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220104070701/https://www.lanouvellerepublique.fr/blois/les-aquarelles-de-loire-de-william-turner|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 January 2022|title=Les aquarelles de Loire de William Turner|website=lanouvellerepublique.fr|access-date=19 December 2019}}</ref> This watercolour conserved at the [[Ashmolean Museum]] in [[Oxford]] was engraved in 1832; one copy is kept at the Château de Montsoreau – Museum of Contemporary Art.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chateau-montsoreau.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/T04690_10-NB.jpg|title=Rietz, near Saumur, engraved by R. Brandard 1832 by Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851|website=Château de Montsoreau – Museum of Contemporary Art|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200123112515/https://www.chateau-montsoreau.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/T04690_10-NB.jpg|archive-date=23 January 2020|access-date=19 December 2019}}</ref>
[[File:Auguste Rodin 1893 Nadar.jpg|thumb|164x164px|[[Auguste Rodin]]]]

==== Auguste Rodin ====
[[Auguste Rodin]] had the pavilion of the [[Exposition Universelle (1889)|Exposition Universelle]] (to which he added a portico recovered from the [[Château d'Issy]]) reinstalled on the heights of [[Meudon]] in 1895. Two years later, around 1897, fascinated by the architecture of the château Montsoreau, he drew an idealized view of its north facade.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://monsite.com/https://collections.musee-rodin.fr/fr/museum/rodin/facade-du-chateau-de-montsoreau-maine-et-loire-danseuse-au-verso/a15c117b-f113-49d6-bc01-8617ace96097|title=Façade du château de Montsoreau (Maine-et-Loire); Danseuse (au verso), Musée Rodin, Les collections du Musée Rodin|website=Musée Rodin|language=fr|access-date=19 December 2019}}{{Dead link|date=July 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==== Paul-Désiré Trouillebert ====
[[Paul Trouillebert|Paul-Désiré Trouillebert]], a painter of the [[Barbizon school|school of Barbizon]], worked in Paris and [[Candes-Saint-Martin]]. He painted several Loire landscapes in which the château de Montsoreau appears.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://joliecampagne.canalblog.com/archives/2012/03/14/23755900.html|title=Le peintre de Candes – Une si jolie campagne...|date=14 March 2012|website=joliecampagne.canalblog.com|language=fr|access-date=19 December 2019}}</ref>

=== Popular culture ===
In 2019, the English magazine ''All About History'' ([[Future plc]]) publishes its ''101 World's Greatest castles'' list and ranked the château de Montsoreau with the number 53.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/knowledge-guides-and-specials/worlds-greatest-castles/|title=101 World's Greatest Castles {{!}} My Favourite Magazines|website=myfavouritemagazines.co.uk|language=en|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191208144818/https://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/knowledge-guides-and-specials/worlds-greatest-castles/|archive-date=8 December 2019|access-date=19 December 2019}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Châteaux of the Loire Valley]]
* [[List of castles in France]]

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |title=Les Châteaux de la Loire – Merveilles de l'art et de l'histoire |publisher=Reader's Digest |series=Sélection du Reader's Digest|year=1997 |isbn=9782709809092}}.
* {{Cite book |author1=O. Desme de Chavigny |title=Les Anciens Seigneurs de Montsoreau |location=Tours |year=1888}}.
* {{Cite journal|author=Savette |title=Le château de Montsoreau |journal=Bulletin Soc. Lettres, Sciences et Arts Saumurois |issue=66 |year=1933}}.
* {{Cite journal|author=Savette |title=Le château de Montsoreau |journal=Bulletin Soc. Lettres, Sciences et Arts Saumurois |issue=67 |year=1933}}.
* {{Cite journal |author=M. Seignan |title=La garnison du château de Montsoreau |journal=Bull. Soc. Lettres, Sciences et Arts Saumurois |issue=31 |year=1922}}.
* {{Cite book|author=Raimbault |title=Notice historique sur le château et la commune de Montsoreau |publisher=Répertoire archéologique de l'Anjou |year=1965}}.
* {{Cite book |first1=O. |last1=Guillot |title=Le Comte d'Anjou et son entourage au XIe siècle |location=Paris |year=1972 }}.
* {{Cite book|first1=Jacques|last1=Levron|title=La véritable histoire de la dame de Montsoreau|location=Joigny / Paris|publisher= Société d'éditions et d'imprimerie / M. Chapelon |year=1938 |pages=110 |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6527804j/f63.image}}.
* {{Cite book|author1=A. Rhein |title=Montsoreau : Congrès archéologique de France – LXXVIIe session |year=1910 |location=Angers-Saumur}}.
* {{Cite book |author1=D. Prigent |title=Utilis est lapis in structura, mélanges offerts en hommage à Léon Pressouyre|chapter=La Pierre de construction et sa mise en œuvre |publisher=Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques |location=Paris |year=2000 |isbn=9782735504398}}
* {{Cite book |author1=Viviane Manase |author2=Daniel Prigent |title=Le Château de Montsoreau |series=Itinéraire du patrimoine |year=1999 |oclc=41534560}}.
* {{Cite book |author1=M. Mollat |title=Les Affaires de Jacques Cœur - Journal du procureur Dauvet |location=Paris |year=1952 }}.
* {{Cite book|author1=M. Saché |title=L'Escalier d'honneur du château de Montsoreau |location=Province d'Anjou |year=1926 }}.
* {{Cite book|first1=Jean-Pierre |last1= Babelon |title=Châteaux de France au siècle de la Renaissance |publisher= Flammarion/Picard|location=Paris |year=1989 |isbn=9782080120625}}.
* {{Cite book|author1=M. Orhon |title=La Première Renaissance dans la partie est de l'Anjou |year=1998 |others=mémoire de DEA, Paris IV}}.
* {{Cite book|author1=E. Berger |author2=Montsoreau, dans de Wismes |title=Le Maine et l'Anjou |volume=2 |year=1860}}.
* {{Cite book |author1=Robida |title=La Touraine |year=1992 |orig-year=1892 }}.
* {{Cite journal|author=Viviane Manase |title=Montsoreau romantique |journal=Revue 303 |issue=58 |year=1998}}.
* {{Cite book|first1=Alain|last1= Salamagne |title=Actes du VIIe Congrès international d'archéologie médiévale |chapter=Archères mâchicoulis et tours dans l'architecture militaire du Moyen Âge (XIIIe-XVe siècles) – éléments fonctionnels ou symboliques ? |publisher=Université du Maine |year=2001 |volume= 7 |issue= 1 |pages= 77–85 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/acsam_0000-0000_2001_act_7_1_1178}}.
* {{Cite book|first1=Emmanuel|last1=Litoux |first2=Daniel|last2=Prigent |first3=Jean-Yves|last3=Hunot |title=Congrès archéologique de France – 155e Session (1997) – Touraine|chapter=Le château de Montsoreau|publisher=[[Société française d'archéologie]] – Musée des Monuments Français |location=Paris |year=2003 }}.
* {{Cite book|first1=Jean-Yves|last1=Hunot |first2=Emmanuel |last2=Litoux| first3=Daniel |last3=Prigent|title=Pierres du patrimoine européen – Economie de la pierre de l'antiquité à la fin des temps modernes|chapter=Un chantier de construction du XVe siècle : le château de Montsoreau (Maine-et-Loire)|publisher=Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques|location=Paris|year=2008|isbn=9782735506675}}.
* {{Cite book|first1=Jean|last1=Hardion |title=Une visite au château de Montsoreau|publisher=Cheminements|location=Coudray-Macouard|orig-year= 1928|year=2003|pages=46|isbn=9782844781802}}.
* {{Cite book|first1=Jean|last1=de Geoffre de Chabrignac |title=Le château de Montsoreau - Notice historique et archéologique|publisher=Siraudeau et Cie|location=Angers|year=1985|pages=98}}.
* {{Cite book|first1=Florian|last1=Stalder|title=Fontevraud-l'Abbaye et Montsoreau – Un regard sur le saumurois|publisher=303 éditions|location=Nantes|year=2013|pages=114|isbn=9782917895122}}.
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Château de Montsoreau}}
* {{Official website|http://www.chateau-montsoreau.com/wordpress/en/the-place/the-chateau/}}
* {{Base Mérimée|PA00109211|Château}}

{{Loire}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:10th-century fortifications]]
[[Category:Gothic architecture in France]]
[[Category:Castles in Pays de la Loire]]
[[Category:Historic house museums in Pays de la Loire]]
[[Category:Museums in Maine-et-Loire]]
[[Category:Monuments historiques of Maine-et-Loire]]
[[Category:Châteaux of the Loire Valley]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1452]]
[[Category:Houses completed in the 15th century]]
[[Category:Palaces in France]]
[[Category:Stairways]]
[[Category:Loire Valley]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in France]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Montsoreau]]
[[Category:Montsoreau]]