Château de Syam
Encyclopedia
Syam
Syam is a commune in the Jura department in the Franche-Comté region in eastern France.The village is known for the Château de Syam, a large French Empire villa designed by Champennois L'Aîné in 1818.-References:*...
in the French department of Jura was built in 1818 by Emmanuel Jobez regional industrialist and owner of the Forges de Syam
Forges de Syam
The Forges de Syam are forge works and sheet metal mills which are still active in 2005, although the buildings were erected in the 19th century and part of the machinery from that time is still in use...
, a forge and sheet metal works.
The castle is listed as a Monument historique
Monument historique
A monument historique is a National Heritage Site of France. It also refers to a state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building or a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, or gardens, bridges, and other structures, because of their...
since 1991 by the French Ministry of Culture.
Inspiration
Emmanuel Jobez lived in Paris for ten years where he met Pierre-Adrien PârisPierre-Adrien Pâris
Pierre-Adrien Pâris was a French architect, painter and designer.-Life:He was born at Besançon, the son of an architect and official surveyor at the court of the Prince-Bishop of Basel...
, court architect to Louis XVI and also a native of Jura. Both men embraced Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
and together toured Italy where they visited works designed by Andrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio was an architect active in the Republic of Venice. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily by Vitruvius, is widely considered the most influential individual in the history of Western architecture...
. They returned impressed by classical architecture and its association with Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
philosophy.
Design
Emmanuel Jobez returned to Syam where he engaged the architect Champennois L'Aîne to build a château largely inspired by Palladio's Villa La Rotonda. Completed c. 1828, the square building is situated on a north-south, east-west axis and organized around a central three-story rotunda. The ground floor of the rotunda is used as a theater and concert hall. Decoration of the house includes polychrome painting, trompe-l'oeil murals in the eye of the dome, original wallpapers produced by Xavier Mader for the manufacturer Joseph Dufour et CieJoseph Dufour et Cie
Joseph Dufour et Cie, founded 1797 by Joseph and Pierre Dufour, was a s a French Manufacture de Papier Peints et Tissus manufacturer located in Mâcon, France.-General:...
, candelabra and chandeliers by Pierre-Philippe Thomire
Pierre-Philippe Thomire
Pierre-Philippe Thomire a French sculptor, was the most prominent bronzier, or producer of ornamental patinated and gilt-bronze objects and furniture mounts of the First French Empire...
, and original Empire and Restauration
Bourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
period furniture. The château remained in ownership of Jobez descendants until 2001 when the property was acquired by Brigitte Cannard and Claude Darbon who occupy a portion of the house and offer tours and concerts there.