Hôtel de Besenval

Hôtel de Besenval
Main entrance of the Embassy of the Swiss Confederation and the residence of the Swiss ambassador to France
General information
Type	Hôtel particulier
Address	142 Rue de Grenelle
Town or city	Paris
Country	France
Current tenants	Embassy of the Swiss Confederation
Construction started	1704
Completed	1866
Owner	Swiss Confederation
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Pierre-Alexis Delamair and Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart

The Hôtel de Besenval is a historic hôtel particulier in Paris with a cour d'honneur and a large English landscape garden, an architectural style commonly known as entre cour et jardin – meaning a residence between the courtyard in front of the building and the garden behind it. The building is listed as a historical monument by decree of 20 October 1928. It houses the Embassy of the Swiss Confederation and the residence of the Swiss ambassador to France since 1938. The residence is named after its most famous former owner, Pierre Victor, Baron de Besenval de Brunstatt.

Location

The Hôtel Chanac de Pompadour on the Turgot map of Paris in 1737 (parcelle n° 19). At the crossroad next to the allée are also the buildings of the former Couvent de Sainte-Valère visible. The church of the convent was auctioned off in 1838 and then demolished to be incorporated into the new Hôtel de Monaco, built for banker William Williams-Hope, Baron Hope (1802–1855).

The premises are at 142 Rue de Grenelle in the district of Faubourg Saint-Germain in the 7th arrondissement, opposite the Hôtel du Châtelet and close to the Hôtel des Invalides.

The gold of the Republic

The Faubourg Saint-Germain has long been known as the favourite home of the French nobility and hosts numerous aristocratic hôtels particuliers. Many of these residences later became foreign embassies and ambassadorial residences or administrative headquarters of the City of Paris or seats of ministries of France. This was also a consequence of the French Revolution, when many of these hôtels particuliers, offering large reception rooms and exquisite decoration, were confiscated and turned into national institutions. The French expression Les ors de la République (The gold of the Republic), referring to the luxurious environment of the national palaces, official residences and institutions like the Palais de l'Élysée, the Hôtel de Matignon or the Palais du Luxembourg, comes from that time. The Hôtel de Besenval was one of the few hôtels particuliers that was not confiscated because its then owner, Pierre Victor, Baron de Besenval de Brunstatt, was a Swiss citizen.

From the Marais to the Faubourg Saint-Germain

In the early 18th century, the French nobility started to move from the Marais, the then aristocratic district of Paris where nobles used to build their hotels particuliers, to the clearer, less populated and less polluted Faubourg Saint-Germain; an area which soon became the new residential area of France's highest ranking nobility. Families like those of the Duc d’Estrées, the Duc du Châtelet or the Duc de Noirmoutier moved there. Their former residences still bear their names today. Therefore, the instinct of the early investors was right when they bought at the beginning of the 18th century their plots of land on what would soon become one of the best addresses in Paris: The Rue de Grenelle.

History

Hôtel Chanac de Pompadour

The historical façade of the corps de logis of the single-floor residence Hôtel Chanac de Pompadour, later called Hôtel de Besenval, towards the courtyard, according to the plans of 1704 by Pierre-Alexis Delamair.

The origins of the Hôtel de Besenval go back to a single-floor residence, the Hôtel Chanac de Pompadour, erected in 1704 for a man of the Church: Pierre Chanac Hélie de Pompadour, Baron de Treignac, Abbé de Vigeois, Prieur de La Valette and Prévost d'Arnac († 1710). It is believed that the abbé was a descendant of the family of Guillaume V de Chanac and Guillaume de Chanac.

For the design of his new residence, the abbé commissioned the celebrated architect Pierre-Alexis Delamair. Delamair, in turn, commissioned the building contractor Guillaume Delavergne († 1710) to carry out his plans for the hôtel particulier, with the total cost estimated at 31,000 livres.

Pierre-Alexis Delamair was very much in demand at the time. It was the same time when he was involved in two other major building projects in Paris: the remodeling of the Hôtel de Clisson, lately known as the Hôtel de Guise, for François de Rohan, Prince de Soubise, which consequently became the Hôtel de Soubise and the construction of the Hôtel de Rohan for Armand Gaston Maximilien, Prince de Rohan.

Pierre-Alexis Delamair's one-off project

Plan of the Hôtel Chanac de Pompadour as seen in 1704. Visible are the ground floors of the corps de logis as well as of the outbuildings around the cour d'honneur and parts of the garden, which was on different levels at the time.

The Hôtel Chanac de Pompadour is a special feature in Delamair's work, as it is the only single-floor hôtel particulier he ever designed. With the Hôtel Chanac de Pompaodur, Delamair also set new standards in façade architecture. The sober, linear neoclassical façade was a novelty and a contrast to the ornate façades that had prevailed up to that point. Architects, who later made changes to the building, always respected Delamair's basic structure and design.

In his book titled: Description de la ville de Paris et de tout ce qu’elle contient de plus remarquable (Description of the City of Paris and all that what it contains most remarkable), first published in 1684 and expanded in later editions, Germain Brice describes the Hôtel Chanac de Pompadour as a pleasant place. However, he also states: "Abbé Pierre Chanac de Pompadour built a house decorated with numerous vases and figures placed in different places [the free-standing figures and vases on the roof cornice of the building]. Those who love the abundance of ornaments will like this. However, it is the clever arrangement of decorations what makes a building beautiful." But then Brice praises: "The apartments enjoy an advantageous view and the house, actually built in a rather light way, does not fail to provide several amenities which make the residence pleasant."

The historical façade of the corps de logis of the single-floor residence Hôtel Chanac de Pompadour, later called Hôtel de Besenval, towards the garden, according to the plans of 1704 by Pierre-Alexis Delamair. The architectural arrangement with the free-standing figures and vases on the roof cornice was criticised by Germain Brice.

Although Jacques-François Blondel was not overly enthusiastic, he nevertheless found words of praise for the work of Pierre-Alexis Delamair in his 1752 publication on French architecture. In his widely acclaimed standard work, Blondel points out that at the Hôtel Chanac de Pompadour the kitchen is no longer housed in the corps de logis but in a side wing to the left (west wing). An architectural arrangement that Blondel describes as an innovation. This architectural innovation had two pleasant side effects: On the one hand, it kept the kitchen odors away from the state rooms and, on the other hand, it reduced the risk of fire in the corps de logis. In addition to the kitchen, Delamair also combined the other utility rooms in the west wing, such as the servant's quarters. Furthermore, Blondel praises the generally clever room layout of the house, especially of the corps de logis, which he says can be traced back to the cleverly arranged enfilades. By this he means, on the one hand, the enfilade that connects the main entrance, the vestibule and the Sallon servant de salle à manger (F) and ultimately leads to the garden (south to north) and, on the other hand, the enfilade that connects the three state rooms, the Sallon servant de salle à manger (F), the Chambre de parade (D) and the Grand cabinet (E) (west to east). The two enfilades intersect in the Sallon servant de salle à manger (F), which is now called the Salon des perroquets. Around the so-called basse-cour (the small courtyard) on the east side of the cour d'honneur, Delamair grouped the stables, the tack room and the coach houses, as well as the hen house.

Despite all the recognition for the architectural innovations, Blondel also expresses criticism. For him, the façade decorations are not coordinated well enough. When it comes to the garden façade, he finds it inexplicable why Delamair chose not to create an avant-corps with three arcade windows, just as he did when remodelling the Hôtel de Soubise. Blondel criticises: "The trumeau in the middle is intolerable. This entire façade offers enough space for an avant-corps with three arcade windows, which would have been preferable to the two rounded French windows now visible."

From the abbé to the évêque and a scandal – or L'affaire de Mademoiselle de Choiseul

Bought the Hôtel Chanac de Pompadour in 1750: Louis-Guy de Guérapin, Baron de Vauréal et Comte de Belleval, Évêque de Rennes. In 1745, when he was stationed in Madrid as French ambassador, King Philip V made him a grandee. The date of 1749, which appears in his portrait, corresponds to that of his election at the Académie Française (seat 23).

After the death of Abbé Pierre Chanac Hélie de Pompadour in 1710, the Hôtel Chanac de Pompadour was inherited by his niece Marie Françoise Hélie de Pompadour, Marquise de Hautefort (1648–1726), and his grandniece Marie Anne Henriette d'Espinay Saint-Luc (1673–1731). Both heiresses once lived in the Hôtel Chanac de Pompadour. However, they, as well as later heirs, also rented it out to various personalities such as to Joseph Marie de Boufflers, Duc de Boufflers.

On 20 September 1720, the Marquise de Hautefort bought the shares that Marie Anne Henriette d'Espinay Saint-Luc, who was married since 25 November 1715 to François, Marquis de Rochechouart et Baron du Bâtiment (1674–1742), whereupon she became the Marquise de Rochechouart, owned in the Hôtel Chanac de Pompadour, setting the estimated value of the entire property at 80,000 livres. That same year, the Marquise and her husband, François Marie de Hautefort, Marquis de Hautefort (1654–1727), moved into the Hôtel Chanac de Pompadour. After the Marquise's death in 1726, the ownership situation became complicated due to an inheritance dispute between the designated heiress and the Marquise's family.

The inheritance dispute over the Hôtel Chanac de Pompadour attracted a lot of public attention at the time, as the heiress appointed by the Marquise de Hautefort, Augustine Françoise de Choiseul, was at the same time involved in a long going legitimization process to determine her biological parentage involving César Auguste de Choiseul, Duc de Choiseul et Comte de Plessis-Praslin († 1705), and his family respectively, and the powerful family on her mother's side, the family de La Baume Le Blanc de La Vallière, Ducs de La Vallière. It was one of the biggest scandals of its time and the court case – which was called L’affaire de Mademoiselle de Choiseul – was even brought before Parliament. Augustine Françoise de Choiseul was the ward of the Marquise de Hautefort, who called her Mademoiselle de Saint-Cyr, named after the Marquise's possession of Saint-Cyr-la-Roche. Finally, on 18 July 1726, she was declared daughter of Louise-Gabrielle, Duchesse de Choiseul, née de La Baume Le Blanc de La Vallière (1665–1698), and of the Duc de Choiseul. Furthermore, two years later, on 7 June 1728, it was decided by an amicable settlement that the Marquise de Hautefort's niece, Marie Anne Henriette, Marquise de Rochechouart, née d'Espinay Saint-Luc (1673–1731), would inherit the Hôtel Chanac de Pompadour.

View from the Salon des perroquets towards the vestibule and the entrance gate of the Hôtel de Besenval.

The Marquise de Rochechouart's heirs may have held the property until 1747, when they probably sold it to the widow Madeleine Angélique Neufville de Villeroy, Duchesse de Boufflers. After her marriage on 29 June 1750 to Charles II Frédéric de Montmorency, Duc de Piney-Luxembourg, the Duchesse de Boufflers, now the Duchesse de Piney-Luxembourg, probably sold the Hôtel Chanac de Pompadour in the same year to Louis-Guy de Guérapin, Baron de Vauréal et Comte de Belleval, the French ambassador in Madrid and Évêque de Rennes.

However, depending on the source, the Duc and the Duchesse de Boufflers were also just tenants of the residence. What is certain is that the Duc and the Duchesse de Boufflers lived in the house in 1737 and that the next significant owner of the Hôtel Chanac de Pompadour was Louis-Guy de Guérapin, Baron de Vauréal et Comte de Belleval, Évêque de Rennes, who bought the residence on 3 February 1750 for 90,100 livres.

The évêque was a prominent figure at the royal court during the reign of King Louis XV. Amongst others, he held the position of Maître ecclésiastique de la Chapelle du Roi (Ecclesiastical Master of the King’s Chapel) from 1732 until his death in 1760. The évêque lived in his residence on the Rue de Grenelle for ten years. During this time, he made some mostly minor modifications to the building. One of the larger modifications he initiated was the enlargement of the vestibule to the size that is still visible today.

A French career: The Baron de Besenval and the rise of his family

Pierre Victor, Baron de Besenval de Brunstatt, in armour, portrayed by Jean-Marc Nattier in 1766, after having received the Order of Saint Louis. Today this portrait is part of the collections of the Hermitage Museum.

After the death of Louis-Guy de Guérapin, Baron de Vauréal et Comte de Belleval, the Hôtel Chanac de Pompadour was rented out first to Charles Léonard de Baylens and then from September 1766 to Pierre Victor, Baron de Besenval de Brunstatt, a Swiss military officer in French service, whose name the residence still bears today.

It was on 5 December 1767, that Pierre Victor, Baron de Besenval de Brunstatt, bought the Hôtel Chanac de Pompadour at auction from the many heirs of Louis-Guy de Guérapin, Baron de Vauréal et Comte de Belleval, for 170,100 livres, of which 6,000 livres for the furniture, moving there from the nearby Rue de Bourgogne. The baron, who mainly grew up in France and who was very close to King Louis XVI and especially Queen Marie-Antoinette, was a descendant of one of the richest and most powerful patrician families of Solothurn. Among other holdings, the family called the Palais Besenval and the Schloss Waldegg their own; the latter was also the birthplace of Pierre Victor de Besenval on 14 October 1721.

The French and the Polish connections

Katarzyna, Baronne de Besenval, née Bielińska (1684–1761), Pierre Victor's mother. While Voltaire conceded wit and modesty to her, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, on the other hand, considered her stubborn and too conceited. Rousseau felt insulted by the Baronne de Besenval and remarked: "The only person who received me badly, and from whom I would have least expected this injustice, was Madame de Besenval." Portrayed by Nicolas de Largillière in 1720.

The family de Besenval or von Besenval, as they were called in their hometown Solothurn, had long and close ties to the French royal family, the House of Bourbon, also thanks to their family ties to the highest circles in Poland.

Pierre Victor de Besenval de Brunstatt was the son of Jean Victor de Besenval de Brunstatt, who was a colonel in the regiment of the Swiss Guards of France. Jean Victor was a descendant from a family originally from Torgnon in the Aosta Valley who had risen socially in the service of King Louis XIV and had received a title of baron of the Holy Roman Empire from Emperor Leopold I in 1695.

Pierre Victor's mother was Katarzyna Bielińska (1684–1761), daughter of Kazimierz Ludwik Bieliński, a noble, politician, diplomat and cousin of King Stanisław Leszczyński, as well as sister of Franciszek Bieliński, both Grand Marshals of the Crown in Poland under the reign of King Stanisław Leszczyński, where Pierre Victor's father had served as French ambassador. She became almost overnight an important figure at the royal court of France when, on 15 August 1725, King Louis XV married Marie Leszczyńska, her cousin, at least that's the rumour that's been spread. A rumour that the Baronne de Besenval never denied.

However, in September 1725, Voltaire wrote from the Château de Versailles to Madame La Présidente de Bernières, Marguerite-Madeleine du Maignart, Marquise de Bernières, née du Moustier (1698 –1767), Châtelaine of the Château de la Rivière-Bourdet: "Everyone here pays court to Madame de Besenval, who is somewhat related to the queen. This lady, who has spirit, receives with great modesty the marks of homage bestowed on her. I saw her yesterday with the Maréchal de Villars. She was asked how she was related to the queen; she replied that queens had no relatives."

This somewhat enigmatic answer from the Baronne de Besenval, however, left room for speculation about the real degree of kinship with the queen.

Whatever the degree of kinship: from this point on, the influence of the family in the royal court increased significantly. An impressive example of this is that the King of France erected the de Besenval's possession of Brunstatt in the Alsace into a French barony on 11 August 1726. Hence the family name de Besenval de Brunstatt.

As a child, Pierre Victor lived with his two uncles and further family members in Solothurn in the Palais Besenval and the family's country estate, the Schloss Waldegg. In 1726, when he was five years old, his mother brought him to France, where his parents already lived. The family lived in a hôtel particulier on the Rue de Varenne in Paris. But they also had an apartment near the Château de Versailles. A few years later, on 4 April 1731, at the age of nine, Pierre Victor joined, as a cadet, the regiment of the Swiss Guards, of which his father had become a colonel.

Extravagance on a grand scale: The nymphaeum

The nymphaeum as it appeared at the end of the 19th century (all decorative elements were removed in 1822). The symmetry of the rectangular room was emphasised by the four niches in the corners with vases by Claude Michel. In addition, there was one of Claude Michel's two large reliefs on the north and south wall respectively (in this drawing already replaced by the baron's relocated commemorative plaque). Two original by Claude Michel signed rectangular terracotta preparatory reliefs for the decoration of the baron's nymphaeum were rediscovered and sold by Christie's in New York on 20 October 2022 as lot 35 in the sale The Ann & Gordon Getty Collection for US$252,000.

At the beginning of the 1780s, the art-loving baron could already look back on an impressive military career. After being appointed military governor of Haguenau in 1766, he was made lieutenant-colonel of the Swiss Guards on 25 August 1767, and was promoted to commander-in-chief of the troops and garrisons in the interior of France in 1781. As such, all troops and garrisons within France were subordinate to him, and he was responsible for order and security in Paris as well as the territories around the capital.

Pierre Victor de Besenval wished that his residence would reflect his achievements and his status. It was therefore only consequent that, in 1782, he employed the celebrated architect Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart to enlarge and transform his residence on the Rue de Grenelle. Among Brongniart's additions were a long gallery with skylight for the baron's constantly growing art collection, a dining room and an extravagance: a nymphaeum – a private bath with a pool in the antique style.

An esthete and his connections to the world of fine arts

Cutaway drawing showing the nymphaeum in 1782, as designed by Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart and artistically decorated by Claude Michel.

Thanks to his contacts with his friends at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture, of which he was named an Honoraire Amateur on 7 February 1784, replacing Abbé François-Emmanuel Pommyer (1713–1784), the baron surrounded himself with quality French art works, signed by Le Nain, Charles-André van Loo, Pierre Mignard, Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Antoine Watteau, Jean-Marc Nattier and Henri-Pierre Danloux just to name a few. The baron also owned a version of La Gimblette (girl playing with a dog) by Jean-Honoré Fragonard. This painting hung in the adjoining room of his bedroom, now called the Salon de l'alcôve or Le Boudoir. It was said that the baron owned the original version of La Gimblette. It is very likely that the baron bought La Gimblette from Jean-Baptiste-Pierre Lebrun. Today, the painting is considered lost. However, there is an engraving based on the original painting, executed by Charles Bertony in 1783 and dedicated to the Baron de Besenval.

It was also thanks to the contacts with the academy, contacts, that he had made long before his appointment as an Honoraire Amateur, and the support of Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, that the baron was able to win over the sculptor Claude Michel to decorate his nymphaeum. Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart knew Claude Michel very well. The two had worked together before. Claude Michel created amongst others limestone reliefs with erotic scenes, which later formed part of the interior decoration of the entrance hall of the Château de Digoine in Palinges and since 1987 form part of the collections of the Louvre (today plaster replicas can be seen in the entrance hall of the Château de Digoine). The Château de Digoine and the Hôtel de Besenval were simultaneously owned by the family de Moreton de Chabrillan and their descendants for over 100 years.

A masterpiece on everyone's lips: The top topic of conversation at the Société de la Reine

The remains of the nymphaeum in the basement of the Hôtel de Besenval. The slightly different colours of the floor plates still indicate the location of the former pool. The elliptical pool was 3.50 meters in diameter and was surrounded by 12 Doric columns, four of which were free-standing.

The nymphaeum with its suggestive decoration became very popular with the Parisian high society. Almost immediately rumors about scandalous behavior in the nymphaeum spread around the salons, and this only confirmed the baron's reputation as a lover and seducer. His contemporaries described the baron as extremely handsome, cheerful and witty. As a personality who is very popular with the ladies, loves life and always sees things positively. Qualities that ultimately enabled him to be accepted into the private circle of the Société de la Reine (the Queen’s Society). In her memoirs Caroline-Stéphanie-Félicité du Crest, Comtesse de Genlis, recalls: "Le Baron de Besenval avait encore une figure charmante et de grands succès auprès les dames" (the Baron de Besenval still had a charming figure and great success with the ladies).

The Société de la Reine, which was a very influential circle at the royal court, was also called Société de Trianon, named after its meeting place, the Petit Trianon, Queen Marie-Antoinette’s retreat. In addition to the queen, the following three gentlemen were considered the most influential members of this society: Pierre Victor, Baron de Besenval de Brunstatt, Joseph Hyacinthe François de Paule de Rigaud, Comte de Vaudreuil, and Jean-Balthazar d’Adhémar, Comte d’Adhémar.

After his visit to the Hôtel de Besenval in 1786, Luc-Vincent Thiéry commented approvingly on the works of Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart and Claude Michel. In his guide on the city of Paris he enthusiastically points out the baron's extravagance: "A bath decorated in the antique style and mystically lit." Thiéry refers to Brongniart's vestibule, which he created as an anteroom for the nymphaeum, and which was lit with ethereal light from above. Thiéry's enthusiasm for this innovation is expressed in his commentary: "It proves the genius of the architect." Then he goes on: "In the niches there are vases with reliefs created by M. Clodion, the king's sculptor. The two large reliefs, that decorate the center of this magnificent room, are also made by this artist."

The legend and the remains of the nymphaeum

The commemorative plaque for the nymphaeum was commissioned by the Baron de Besenval himself.

Regarding the use of the nymphaeum, already contemporary observers noted that although the pool was filled with hot water, the basement itself was ice cold. Therefore, the nymphaeum was probably only used to a limited extent as a place for love adventures. Furthermore, it was said that the pool was actually used only once, by a soldier of the Swiss Guards, who shortly afterwards died of pneumonia. However, this may just be a popular legend, as Borgniart also installed a heating system in the nymphaeum.

Today only the basic architectural structure of the nymphaeum is visible. The pool was filled in long ago. The mobile decorations, mostly made by Claude Michel, such as the reliefs, the vases and the statues, were all taken from the Hôtel de Besenval in the first half of the 19th century and installed in the Château de Digoine and finally sold at the beginning of the 20th century when the Château de Digoine was sold by the descendants of the family de Moreton de Chabrillan to Anne Marie Christine Antoinette, Marquise de Croix d'Heuchin (1860–1927), in 1908, who bought the château for her son Pierre Guy Marie François de Croix (1886–1930).

Revolutionary years: The events came thick and fast

Negotiations on the plank and Storming of the Bastille: On 14 July 1789, on the orders of the Governor of the Bastille, Bernard-René Jourdan de Launay, Ludwig von Flüe, an officer of the Swiss Guards, handed over the letter of capitulation to Stanislas-Marie Maillard through one of the holes he had made in the drawbridge of the Bastille. On the other side of the drawbridge, Stanislas-Marie Maillard climbed onto a plank above the dry moat to fetch the document. Bernard-René Jourdan de Launay's demands were not met. At 5:30 pm the Bastille was stormed.

By 1789, at the dawn of the French Revolution, Pierre Victor de Besenval had accumulated the prestigious and influential positions of lieutenant-general of the king's armies, lieutenant-colonel of the Swiss Guards as well as commander-in-chief of the troops and garrisons in the interior of France. In addition, he was also bearer of the prestigious Order of Saint Louis. Jean-Baptiste-Denis Després, Pierre Victor de Besenval's secretary, aptly summarized the baron's success: "Le Baron de Besenval fut un de ces hommes à qui tout réussit" (the Baron de Besenval was one of those men who succeeded in everything).

On 5 May, Les États Généraux were convened in Versailles. The baron, who attended the opening ceremony, remarked that the royal court underestimated the seriousness of the situation.

On 1 July, the baron received a ministerial letter informing him that the king had decided to regroup all his troops under a single command and entrusted them to the Maréchal de Broglie. Clearly, the baron was removed from the command of his troops of the Île-de-France and the garrison of Paris. He was now doomed to await and obey orders. However, under the supreme command of the Maréchal de Broglie, he was in command of the troops sent to Paris to quell the riots.

On 6 July 1789, Ludwig von Flüe, an officer of the Swiss Guards, received orders from Pierre Victor de Besenval to go to the Bastille with his detachment of the regiment de Salis-Samade to reinforce the guards and to ensure the defence of the prison-fortress. The next day, Ludwig von Flüe arrived at the Bastille with 32 soldiers and a sergeant. In the days that followed, the events came thick and fast.

The baron's fatal decision and the beginning of the French Revolution

While still maintaining order in Paris in May by drastic measures, the Baron de Besenval withdrew the troops from Paris on 12 July in the hope of avoiding a bloodbath. However, this enabled the Taking of the Bastille on 14 July by revolutionary insurgents. On the part of the aristocrats, the baron was heavily criticized for his behavior. François-Emmanuel Guignard, Comte de Saint-Priest, was furious and accused the baron of incompetence. In his memoirs he wrote contemptuously: "A dozen battalions of foreign troops stationed on the Champ de Mars and a few regiments of cavalry were available to the Baron de Besenval, Swiss lieutenant-general and commander of Paris. Besenval didn't show up, didn't give orders, and locked himself in his house for fear that people might come and loot it."

After the Taking of the Bastille on 14 July 1789: The abandoned military camp in the courtyard of the École militaire on the Champ de Mars on 15 July 1789, after the hasty retreat of the Baron de Besenval's troops.

King Louis XVI first learned of the Taking of the Bastille only the next morning through the Duc de la Rochefoucauld-Liancourt. "Is it a revolt?" asked the king. The duc replied: "No Sire, it's not a revolt; it's a revolution."

In his memoirs, which were only published after his death, the baron says that he had acted on the orders of the Maréchal de Broglie that day:

"Weakened by the defection [of some soldiers] and certain that I was useless, I decided to return [with the troops] to Sèvres at nightfall; and as soon as the troops were in motion, I received orders from the Maréchal de Broglie to retreat."

— Pierre Victor, Baron de Besenval,

This incident has since been considered the beginning of the French Revolution.

The baron, accused of high treason by the aristocrats and of the crime of lèse-nation by the revolutionaries, had no choice but to flee to Switzerland, his home country.

L'affaire de M. de Besenval: Besenval's escape, arrest and release

The Baron de Besenval was taken to the Château de Brie-Comte-Robert to be imprisoned there on 10 August 1789.

Pierre Victor de Besenval was not only hated by the revolutionary masses as a soldier, but also suspected as a close friend of Queen Marie-Antoinette. When the revolutionary masses demanded his head, the baron obtained permission from the king to leave for Switzerland, after having spoken to him on 19 July 1789 at the Château de Versailles.

In his memoirs the baron recalls:

"On 19th [July], I visited the king, all ministers being absent… He urged me to escape. So I decided to return to Switzerland."

— Pierre Victor, Baron de Besenval,

However, just a day after his departure from Paris, the baron was recognized by revolutionary troops during his trip at the auberge in Villegruis near Provins on 26 July. He was immediately arrested and eventually imprisoned in the Château de Brie-Comte-Robert, before being charged with the crime of lèse-nation in mid-October and transferred to the prison Grand Châtelet in Paris on 7 November. In his prison cell, which was quite comfortable since it was actually the prison chaplain's room, the baron was allowed to be served by his valet, who ordered the baron's meals from the best caterers in town. Furthermore, he was allowed to receive visitors, who came in large numbers. Amongst others, he received Gouverneur Morris, the future Ambassador of the United States of America to France, on 17 November, to whom the baron reported that he is convinced that a counter-revolution will soon take place. Another visitor was the painter Hubert Robert, whose painting Vue de la cellule du Baron de Besenval à la prison du Châtelet (View from the Baron de Besenval's cell in the Châtelet prison) bears witness to his visit to this day. The painting forms part of the collections of the Louvre since 2012.

Excerpt Journal de Paris, no. 225, Friday, 13 August 1790: Acquittal on Monday, 1 March 1790 – The Baron de Besenval is acquitted in the crime of lèse-nation.

It was only through the intervention of the Geneva banker and French finance minister Jacques Necker that the baron escaped lynching when he was arrested in Villegruis. Eventually, the baron was released on 1 March 1790 after winning his case before the court of the Grand Châtelet, thanks to the indefatigable support of his soldiers, who testified in his favour. But also thanks to the closing argument of his lawyer, Raymond Desèze, and thanks to Jacques Necker, who had held his protective hand over him. Saved from the guillotine and released from prison, the baron returned the same day to his residence on the Rue de Grenelle, protected by the Swiss Guards and escorted by a crowd of friends.

However, not everyone was enthusiastic about this verdict. And quite a few saw this judgment as a courtesy judgment for the Swiss Guards, who were favored by the royal court, and as a concession to Jacques Necker, who demanded a pardon for Pierre Victor de Besenval at a reception at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris on 30 July 1789 in the presence of the Mayor of Paris, Jean Sylvain Bailly, and the Commandant Général de la Garde Bourgeoise, the Marquis de Lafayette, as well as of the 120 representatives of the Commune de Paris and further high-ranking dignitaries. Necker asked in his statement: "It is not only before you, it is before the most unknown, the most obscure of the citizens of Paris, that I prostrate myself, that I throw myself on my knees to ask that no one exercise, neither towards M. de Besenval nor towards anyone else, no rigors similar in any way to those that I have been told... What I ask is consideration for a foreign general, if he only needs that; it's indulgence and kindness, if he needs more... I would be very happy if this example became the signal for an amnesty which would restore calm to France."

Due to the fame of Pierre Victor de Besenval and his prominent friends, some of whom also enjoyed respect among the revolutionaries and campaigned for the baron's release, the Besenval Case soon developed into a test case of fair justice in revolutionary France. In addition to the popular Jacques Necker, the also much respected Marquis de Lafayette also demanded the release of Pierre Victor de Besenval. Furthermore, the Swiss cantons also protested against the baron's arrest, especially his compatriots from the Canton of Solothurn.

Pierre Victor de Besenval as a courtier around 1780, etching by Louis Carrogis Carmontelle.

One of the less pleased about the baron's release was François-René de Chateaubriand. In his Mémoires d'Outre-Tombe, published in 1849 and 1850, he commented cynically on Pierre Victor de Besenval's acquittal: "This incriminated baron compromised in the affair of the Bastille, saved by M. Necker and by Mirabeau, only because he was Swiss: what misery!"

Le Suisse le plus français qui ait jamais été

After his release, Pierre Victor de Besenval resumed his work in the king's service. But soon he was no longer able to hold office, as the six-month imprisonment and the ongoing danger to his life had severely affected his health. His condition worsened day by day. After having already had his portrait painted by some of the most famous French painters, such as Jean-Marc Nattier, Jean-Baptiste Greuze and Louis Carrogis Carmontelle, the baron commissioned his last portrait from Henri-Pierre Danloux in spring 1791. Shortly after this most famous portrait of his was completed, his strength failed him at length.

The baron died on 2 June 1791 after dinner in the bedroom at his residence in Paris surrounded by twenty five friends and relatives including his mistress Catherine-Louise, Marquise de La Suze, née de Santo-Domingo (1757–1826), wife of Louis-François de Chamillart, Marquis de La Suze, and his son Joseph-Alexandre Pierre, Vicomte de Ségur. The autopsy found the cause of death to be a polyp in the heart.

"Le Suisse le plus français qui ait jamais été" (the most French Swiss ever), as Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve once called Pierre Victor, Baron de Besenval, was buried on 6 June 1791 in the church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris in the presence of his friends and his only child, his son Joseph-Alexandre Pierre, Vicomte de Ségur.

From Besenval's death in 1791 to 1925

Chambre du maître, the former bedroom of the Baron de Besenval, where he died on 2 June 1791. The room has four overdoors with grisaille painting by Jules Didier, showing landscape scenes with sheep, birds and putti, interpreting the three seasons autumn, winter and spring. The fourth overdoor is dedicated to love. Today the room is called Salon des ministres. The baron's writing table, dating from around 1720, was placed in this room. On 26 May 2021, this bureau plat was sold by Christie's in London as lot 30 in the sale Collection Baroness Marion Lambert for EUR462,500.

In his will of 20 December 1784, Pierre Victor de Besenval, who was never married, bequeathed the usufruct of his residence on the Rue de Grenelle to his lifelong friend, the Maréchal Philippe Henri, Marquis de Ségur, whose second son, Joseph-Alexandre Pierre, Vicomte de Ségur, was in fact the baron's illegitimate son, which was no secret within the family. The baron's relationship with his best friend's wife, Louise-Anne de Vernon, Marquise de Ségur (1729–1778), which lasted until her death, and the illegitimate son did not cloud the relationship between the spouses or between Besenval and his best friend. But on the contrary. The three enjoyed being together. The baron spent a lot of time in the château of the Marquis de Ségur in Romainville where he could pursue another passion: the art of horticulture (the last remains of the Château de Ségur were demolished in 2017). Furthermore, it was the intention of both, the Baron de Besenval and the Marquis de Ségur, that one day the baron’s son would inherit the Hôtel de Besenval. Consequently, the baron bequeathed the bare ownership of the Hôtel de Besenval to his biological son Joseph-Alexandre Pierre, Vicomte de Ségur. The physical resemblance between Pierre Victor de Besenval and his son was noticed and discussed by contemporaries, including Gouverneur Morris, who wrote in his diary after a visit to the Hôtel de Besenval on 27 March 1789: "I then went to the Baron de Besenval. The company is not numerous, and there is the Vicomte de Ségur, who passes for the son of the baron; one must admit that he really is, if one accepts as proof their physical resemblance and their mutual tenderness. This young man is the Lovelace of the day, and as remarkable as his father as a seducer."

A treasure house is being auctioned off: The sale of the Hôtel de Besenval

During the French Revolution, the family de Ségur was largely dispossessed. Consequently, the family was in need of money. Therefore, the Marquis de Ségur and the Vicomte de Ségur decided to sell the entire contents of the Hôtel de Besenval at auction on 10 August 1795. The auction with 222 lots was conducted by Alexandre Joseph Paillet, a prominent auctioneer in Paris at the end of the 18th century. Between 1777 and 1789, Paillet also acted as an agent for The Crown, acquiring paintings for the museum in the Louvre.

In the foreword to the auction catalogue, Alexandre Joseph Paillet praises the baron's collection: "The precious and considerable collection of which we are presently announcing the public and detailed sale by auction, will again offer amateurs a brilliant opportunity to acquire distinguished and choice objects in the different kinds of curiosity of which it is composed."

It is an irony of history that the entire contents of the Hôtel de Besenval were sold at auction, because Pierre Victor de Besenval rarely bought at auctions. He preferred to buy his furniture and artworks either directly from the artists or from established dealers such as Lazare Duvaux or Jean-Baptiste-Pierre Lebrun. The proceeds from the auction were almost two million livres. An enormous sum which helped to financially rehabilitate the family de Ségur.

A taste for the finer things in life

Installed by Pierre Victor de Besenval: The large and unique marble stove decorated with gilt bronzes made by Pierre Gouthière in the vestibule of the Hôtel de Besenval. Photographed just before World War I. Only a few years later, it was dismantled and sold. In the late 1990s the stove was with the Galerie Kraemer of Paris. The gallery later sold it to a client in the United States for FRF4,500,000 (then ~US$800,000).

The considerable auction proceeds show what treasures the baron had amassed in the Hôtel de Besenval over the course of his life. Even his contemporaries knew how to report that the Hôtel de Besenval was a real treasure house.

The prestige of his collection was such that one could almost take at face value the scathing remarks of François-Emmanuel Guignard, Comte de Saint-Priest, accusing the baron of having selfishly preferred to let the looting of the Hôtel des Invalides happen on 14 July 1789 by rioters who seized the cannons and muskets stored in its cellars to use against the Bastille later the same day, for fear that his nearby home, the Hôtel de Besenval, might otherwise have been looted.

The description of the Baron de Besenval's residence with many accurate details about the ornaments of the wood panelling and the stucco ceilings of the different rooms as well as of the artworks and the furnishings by Luc-Vincent Thiéry in his Guide des amateurs et des étrangers voyageurs à Paris, ou Description raisonnée de cette Ville, de sa Banlieue, et de tout ce qu'elles contiennent de remarquable, published in 1787, the annotations in the Abbé Le Brun's Almanach historique et raisonné des architectes, peintres, sculpteurs, graveurs et cizeleurs of 1777 about the baron's rich cabinet of paintings from The Three Painting Schools (France, Italy and the Netherlands), together with the baron's 1795 collection sale catalogue by Alexandre Joseph Paillet, offer a remarkably comprehensive picture of his distinctive taste for luxurious furniture, porcelain, paintings, sculptures and objets d’art. Or as Henriette Campan, Première Femme de Chambre of Queen Marie-Antoinette, put it: "Le Baron de Besenval avait conservé la simplicité des Suisses, et acquis toute la finesse d’un courtisan français" (the Baron de Besenval had retained the simplicity of the Swiss, and acquired all the finesse of a French courtier).

Some of the baron's treasures are also visible in the portrait titled: Le Baron de Besenval dans son salon de compagnie, painted by Henri-Pierre Danloux in 1791 and now hanging in the National Gallery.

The baron's Last Sitting – Danloux's iconic portrait

Le Baron de Besenval dans son salon de compagnie at the Hôtel de Besenval, the iconic portrait of the baron by Henri-Pierre Danloux from 1791 (the year of the baron's death). A preparatory drawing of this portrait shows the baron seated with his face and upper body turned toward the viewer instead of the profile view. By changing the pose from frontal to profile, Danloux focuses the attention less on the sitter himself and more on the objects in the room, putting not Besenval himself in the limelight but his passion as a collector. On 27 May 2004 this portrait of the baron was sold by Sotheby's in New York as lot 35 for US$2,472,000. Today the portrait is part of the collections of the National Gallery. This room, the Salon de compagnie, was lost over time during the various structural alteration works.

Colin B. Bailey describes the iconic portrait Le Baron de Besenval dans son salon de compagnie as Henri-Pierre Danloux's "most accomplished Parisian portrait" and notes that this intimate picture "deserves to be known as the single oil painting produced in the 18th century of a French private collector in his picture cabinet." This painting was one of the few pieces not for sale at the auction in 1795. The baron's son, Joseph-Alexandre Pierre, Vicomte de Ségur, kept his father's portrait in his possession until his death in 1805.

It was to be one last for both, Besenval and Danloux: Besenval died shortly after the portrait was completed in 1791, and for Danloux it was his last major portrait commission before he left France because of the turmoil of the Revolution and emigrated to the United Kingdom.

Even today, most of the paintings, which are visible in this portrait, displayed against green damask, can be identified. According to Colin B. Bailey, paintings of the following artists are visible: Cornelis van Poelenburgh, Willem van de Velde, David Teniers, Aelbert Cuyp, Claude-Joseph Vernet and Carlo Maratta. Also most of the other objects visible on the portrait can be identified and sometimes even traced back to their whereabouts, like the three pieces of green Chinese celadon porcelain mounted with French gilt-bronze placed on the fireplace mantel. Each of the three pieces has an idenical pendant. The three pairs, together called the Baron de Besenval Garniture, were sold at auction on 8 July 2021 by Christie's in London in The Exceptional Sale in three lots (lots 4, 5 and 6) for a total of GBP1,620,000.

Furthermore, some pieces of Japanese porcelain are visible on an armoire à hauteur d'appui, made in the style of André-Charles Boulle (one of a pair, made in contre-parti, and almost certainly lots 186 and 187 in the baron's 1795 collection sale catalogue). Among the Japanese porcelain pieces on the armoire à hauteur d'appui are an Arita carp vase and a Kakiemon bottle. The beautifully crafted pair of gilt bronze chenets to the baron's feet (only one of the pair is visible) and the gilt bronze wall-lights on both sides of the mirror (only the lower part of the one on the right-hand side is visible, showing a ram's mask on the back-plate) can be attributed to Philippe Caffieri and were probably made en suite to form a visual ensemble (two pairs of these wall-lights are known: one at the Royal Palace of Stockholm and the other in a private collection).

The relations between the families de Besenval and Caffieri were close. Already the baron's father, Jean Victor de Besenval de Brunstatt (1671–1736), was a client of Philippe Caffieri's father, Jacques Caffieri, who had cast Jean Victor's bust in 1737 and that of his late father, Jean Victor Pierre Joseph Besenval (1638–1713), in 1735. The busts, at least one of which was part of the baron's collection, according to Louis Abel de Bonafous, Abbé de Fontenay (1737–1806), it was the bust that showed the baron's father and which he kept in his cabinet, were both shown at the exhibition L’Art Français sous Louis XIV et sous Louis XV, which was held in Paris in 1888.

On the one hand, this shows the exquisite taste of the baron, whom Luc-Vincent Thiéry (1734–1822) once called "homme de goût et de connaissances" (man of taste and knowledge), and, on the other hand, with what precision Henri-Pierre Danloux has executed this last portrait of Pierre Victor de Besenval.

Over the years, many of the baron's treasures have found new homes in world renowned museums or distinctive private collections. The most valuable piece of furniture in the baron's collection was a commode à vantaux made in 1778 by Martin Carlin in ebony inset with precious pietra dura panels signed by Gian Ambrogio Giachetti. Today this commode is part of the Royal Collection and is on display in the Green Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace. Other pieces found their way into the collections of the Louvre, the National Gallery, the Hermitage Museum, the Wallace Collection and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Besenval era is coming to an end: The Comtesse de Moreton de Chabrillan

Bought the Hôtel de Besenval in 1797: The widow Marie-Elisabeth-Olive Guigues, Comtesse de Moreton de Chabrillan (1761–1807), heiress to the Château de Digoine in Palinges. The comtesse was portrayed by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun in 1782.

Unlike the property and the fortune of the family de Ségur, the Hôtel de Besenval was exempt from expropriation by the revolutionary government, since the former property of the Baron de Besenval was still considered Swiss-owned. In this context, it paid off for the Vicomte de Ségur to ensure that, during the worst phase of the revolutionary turmoil, he was only perceived as executor of Pierre Victor de Besenval's will and not as his heir.

Already in 1780, the Baron de Besenval had bought a hôtel particulier on 6 Rue Chantereine for his son, the Vicomte de Ségur, which was built by the architect François-Victor Perrard de Montreuil (1742–1821). The Marquis de Ségur lived in the Hôtel de Ségur on 9 Rue Saint-Florentin. Thus, neither the Marquis de Ségur nor the Vicomte de Ségur had the intention to move permanently into the Hôtel de Besenval. However, shortly after his father's death, the Vicomte de Ségur seemed to have lived at the Hôtel de Besenval for at least some time.

On 30 October 1795, the Marquis de Ségur and the Vicomte de Ségur decided to let the Hôtel de Besenval to Francesco-Saverio, Conte di Carletti (1740–1803), the Minister of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in Paris. But just two years later, on 5 May 1797, the Marquis de Ségur and the Vicomte de Ségur sold the Hôtel de Besenval to Marie-Elisabeth-Olive Guigues, Comtesse de Moreton de Chabrillan, née Frotier de La Coste-Messelière (1761–1807), widow of Jacques Henri Sébastien César Guigues, Comte de Moreton de Chabrillan, for FRF35,000. The family of the Comtesse also owned the Château de Digoine in Palinges. The Comtesse's grandfather was Claude Léonor de Reclesne, Marquis de Digoine (1698–1765).

It was the son of the Comtesse de Moreton de Chabrillan, Aimé Jacques Marie Constant Guigues, Comte de Moreton de Chabrillan, Chambellan to Emperor Napoleon by decree of 21 December 1809, whom Napoleon created Comte de l'Empire by letters patent of 19 January 1811, who, in the first half of the 19th century, brought all the decorative elements of the baron's nymphaeum to the Château de Digoine and used them to adorn the entrance hall and the grand staircase of the château. Most of these decorative elements were made by Claude Michel, like the limestone reliefs with erotic scenes which form part of the collections of the Louvre since 1987.

The family de Moreton de Chabrillan and their descendants kept the Hôtel de Besenval in their possession until 1925. In later years, they also rented it out, including to members of the family Bonaparte.

The transformation of the Hôtel de Besenval and the arrival of the family Bonaparte

View from the Salon de la tapisserie with its mirrored doors, to the Salon des perroquets and further to the Salon des ministres (La chambre du maître). The Salon des perroquets is named after the painting with a parrot in the trumeau mirror above the fireplace and after the paintings on the overdoors which show parrots as well.

It was in 1862 (construction plans dated 25 July 1862) and in 1866 respectively (construction work carried out), during the time when the Hôtel de Besenval belonged to Marie Jacqueline Sidonie, Marquise de Montholon-Sémonville, née Guigues de Moreton de Chabrillan (1810–1890), daughter of Aimé Jacques Marie Constant Guigues, Comte de Moreton de Chabrillan, and her husband, Louis François Alphonse, Marquis de Montholon-Sémonville (1808–1865), Prince d'Umbriano del Precetto, and Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur, that the corps de logis was altered to its present appearance after the design of the architect P. Chabrier. The house was enlarged with another floor and an attic with a comble à la Mansart.

View from the vestibule, with its wood panelling à la capucine, to the Salon des perroquets. To the left and right of the door are the portraits of Jacques Necker, who saved Besenval's neck, and his wife Suzanne Curchod.

This construction work massively changed the external appearance of the single-floor residence. Whereas the corps de logis previously had the appearance and the architectural lightness of a pleasure pavilion, the Hôtel de Besenval now changed its appearance to become a house with a certain severity and seriousness, a residence suitable for a family.

The family de Montholon was very close to the French imperial family, the House of Bonaparte. Charles Tristan, Marquis de Montholon, was a general under Emperor Napoleon and followed him into exile on 8 August 1815 on Saint Helena. Therefore, it doesn't come as a surprise, that between 1855 and 1870 the Princes Lucien and Joseph Lucien Bonaparte, sons of Charles Lucien Bonaparte and therefore descdendants of Lucien Bonaparte, younger brother of Emperor Napoleon, resided at the Hôtel de Besenval.

It was also at the request of the family Bonaparte, that the family de Montholon-Sémonville commissioned the extension of the building and the construction of the new suites of rooms on the first floor, so that also other members of the family Bonaparte could temporarily stay at the Hôtel de Besenval, such as Princesse Charlotte Honorine Joséphine Bonaparte (1832–1901).

Today the ambassador's office and other offices and meeting rooms are located on the first floor. Part of the first floor also houses the ambassador's private quarters. The layout and the decoration of these rooms are rather simple compared to the state rooms on the ground floor.

Embassy of the Swiss Confederation (until 1957 as the Swiss Legation)

On the afternoon of 8 March 1938, Minister Walter Stucki (right) and the French Foreign Minister Yvon Delbos (left) met for talks in Delbos's office at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. One of the topics of conversation was the relocation of the Swiss Legation to the Hôtel de Besenval. A few days later, the world looked very different. On 10 March, the Government Chautemps IV under Prime Minister Camille Chautemps resigned and Delbos was no longer foreign minister. On 12 March, the Anschluss Österreichs took place. It was the eve of World War II.

During the second half of the 19th century, the Hôtel de Besenval became more and more of a revenue house. By 1909, the whole building was subdivided into apartments. Before World War I, most of the tenants were aristocrats. In the aftermath of World War I, from 1936 to 1938, parts of the Hôtel de Besenval served as the seat of various international arbitral tribunals provided for in the peace treaties. Years earlier, in 1925, Jean de Montholon, a descendant of Marie-Elisabeth-Olive Guigues, Comtesse de Moreton de Chabrillan, who had bought the Hôtel de Besenval in 1797, sold the Hôtel de Besenval for FRF3,000,000 to the public company Société immobilière Pompadour. The majority shareholders of the company were Emily Grace Baumann, née Kinsley (1862–1951), an American heiress and widow of Gustav Baumann (1853–1914), a Swiss gentleman from St. Gallen, and her son, Clifton K. Baumann (1893–1936). However, Emily Grace Baumann and her son Clifton only lived in the Hôtel de Besenval temporarily between 1930 and 1931. The property continued to be occupied primarily by tenants until it was sold in 1938. One of the more illustrious tenants was George Bakhmeteff, the last tsarist Russian ambassador to the United States. One of the last tenants to leave the Hôtel de Besenval before it was taken over by the Swiss Confederation was the retired US ambassador Robert Peet Skinner, former US ambassador to Greece, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Turkey.

The relocation of the Swiss Legation to the Rue de Grenelle in 1938 made international headlines. At the time, war was in the air and the international press followed closely what neutral Switzerland was doing. It was no surprise that The New York Times reported on the relocation of the Swiss Legation to the Hôtel de Besenval even before the contract was signed, as it was no secret among the diplomatic and the political circles, that the contract negotiations had been ongoing since 1937.

From the mid-1930s, the threat of war in Europe steadily increased. Accordingly, the Federal Council was concerned about the country's balance and independence. Therefore, the Swiss Foreign Minister Giuseppe Motta decided to strengthen Switzerland's presence in some important capitals. Part of this strategy was the plan to purchase representative embassy and legation buildings in strategically favorable locations, particularly in Paris, Rome and Washington (with the purchase of the Villa Kunheim in Berlin in 1919 and a mansion in London, this task had already been accomplished in these capitals).

When, after the death of Clifton K. Baumann in 1936, the Hôtel de Besenval was put up for sale in 1937, the Swiss Government did not have to think twice. With its prime location, ideal size and storied Franco-Swiss past embodied by Pierre Victor de Besenval, it seemed like the ideal building. In the same year, negotiations began between the Société immobilière Pompadour and the Swiss Confederation. Finally, on 19 May 1938, the Swiss Confederation purchased the Hôtel de Besenval for FRF3,440,000 and moved the Swiss Legation from its previous premises at 51 Avenue Hoche to 142 Rue de Grenelle.

It was Minister Walter Stucki, Envoy of the Swiss Confederation to France, who was in charge of the purchase and the supervision of the serious renovation work of the existing buildings as well as the addition of an administrative building bordering the west court, which replaced the former west wing with the kitchen and the servant's quarters. The work was planned and carried out by the architects Moreillon & Taillens. Later, between 1967 and 1969, the west wing was expanded to include a floor and an attic based on the model of the corps de logis.

The main entrance of the Hôtel de Besenval around 1939. The new monumental entrance portal, designed by the architects Moreillon & Taillens after the design of the entrance portal of the Hôtel de Soubise, with the inscription Légation de Suisse has already been completed. The inscription was later removed when the legation was upgraded to an embassy in 1957.

The offices of the Swiss Legation opened in January 1939. A month earlier, in December 1938, Minister Walter Stucki was able to move into the envoy's residence. A few months later, World War II broke out.

In June 1940, after the Battle of France, the capture of Paris and the fall of the Third Republic on 22 June, the legation was downgraded to a consulate and Minister Walter Stucki as well as a large part of the French ruling elite, including the Deputy Prime Minister Philippe Pétain, withdrew to Vichy.

In the course of time, Stucki gained Pétain's trust. And on 27 August 1944, Pétain took Stucki to the Hôtel du Parc as a witness to prove that he was evacuated by the Germans against his will to Belfort. Stucki mediated between the advancing Allies, the retreating Germans and the French Resistance fighters, and saved Vichy from destruction. The grateful city government of Vichy named a street after Stucki, the Avenue Walter Stucki.

After the war in 1945, with the arrival of Minister Carl J. Burckhardt, the Hôtel de Besenval once again became the Swiss Legation and social life returned to the residence on the Rue de Grenelle. On 25 March 1947, Carl J. Burckhardt welcomed an illustrious group of friends from the world of the arts at his residence. Amongst others there were: Marie-Laure de Noailles, Louise Lévêque de Vilmorin, Nora Auric (1900–1982), Robert de Saint-Jean, Christian Bérard and Jacques Février. Finally, diplomacy was able to devote itself again to its actual task: maintaining and intensifying bilateral relations.

"Switzerland had to have a place in Paris that reflected the importance, the friendship and the density of relations between the two countries."

— Ambassador Edouard Brunner on the importance of the Hôtel de Besenval for Swiss diplomacy,

The Hôtel de Besenval: In the service of Franco-Swiss diplomacy – already in Besenval's time

Loyal to the End: The Massacre of the Swiss Guards (in red uniform coats) during the Storming of the Palais des Tuileries on 10 August 1792. It is estimated that up to 700 Swiss Guards were killed.

The first permanent diplomatic representation of the then Helvetic Republic in France was opened in April 1798. Head of this worldwide first ever official permanent Swiss diplomatic representation was the Envoy Peter Josef Zeltner from Solothurn. This was the beginning of a long line of Swiss ambassadors to France.

However, long before, individual Swiss cantons of the old Swiss Confederacy were well aware that they had to have their interests represented at the powerful French royal court. In the Ancien Régime, these tasks were either assigned to special envoys for special tasks, or the already established network by allied persons who were already on the ground was used, such as the officers of the Swiss Guards, like Pierre Victor de Besenval, and this for good reasons. The officers of the Swiss Guards were very influential at the royal court. Alain-Jacques Tornare (* 1957) describes their status as follows: "Swiss soldiers in France were not mercenaries, but an army within the army. In a broader sense, the Swiss community in France formed a state within the state. The kings showered the Swiss with privileges such as tax exemptions, legal rights and freedom of religion, so that they were more favored than the French themselves." The Swiss thanked the kings by assuring them of their reliability and loyalty. In summary, Tornare says about the importance of the Swiss Guards: "A pillar of France's Ancien Régime and a symbol of Swiss know-how."

State rooms

It was in 1782, when the architect Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart transformed the former Grand cabinet at the Hôtel de Besenval into what was then a novelty: a dining room in the neoclassical style, painted in mint green and decorated with overdoor reliefs imitating the decorative style of Pompei and Herculaneum. One showing the Dance of The Bacchae, the other the Toilette of Venus.

The layout and the decoration of the vestibule and the state rooms, the Salon de la tapisserie, the Salon des perroquets and the Salon des ministres (La chambre du maître), as well as the dining room, have changed little since the time of the Baron de Besenval. The designs of the architects Pierre-Alexis Delamair and Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart are still predominant, especially when it comes to the wood panelling, although later revisions and additions were made in the corresponding styles. These rooms are still decorated in the styles of their time: Régence, Louis XV, Louis XVI and Neoclassicism.

Salon de l'alcôve, also called Le Boudoir at the Hôtel de Besenval. A richly decorated room in white and gold, showing four medallion paintings in the style of François Boucher. The painting La Gimblette hung in this room.

However, it was in the first half of the 19th century that the family de Moreton de Chabrillan transformed the little adjoining room to the baron's former bedroom into a Salon de l'alcôve and embellished its wood panelling, dating originally from the 1720s, with elements in the rococo revival style, amongst others with four medallion paintings in the style of François Boucher, embedded in the wall panelling. Today, this room is also called Le Boudoir.

In the course of time and under the different owners, further decorative changes were made, especially before the turn of the 19th to the 20th century and in the early 20th century. Parquet floors were replaced, some fireplace mantels exchanged, the large 18th-century marble stove decorated with gilt bronzes made by Pierre Gouthière in the vestibule dismantled and sold, the double-leaf doors of the Salon de la tapisserie mirrored, and the stucco ceiling in the Chambre du maître lost its elaborate decoration (the decoration of the ceiling can still be seen in photographs from before World War I).

However, it was with great respect that the Swiss Confederation renovated these rooms after acquiring the property in 1938, which had been already a listed building for 10 years at the time.

Furthermore, from the very beginning, it was also important to the Swiss Confederation to equip the state rooms with appropriate furniture from the relevant eras and styles. And if even possible, to get some of the original furniture back that had once belonged to the furnishings of the Hôtel de Besenval. The costs of purchasing all the antique furniture and works of art were largely borne by Swiss industrialists, who founded the Amis de l'Hôtel de Pompadour association for this purpose. The driving forces behind the extensive furnishing of antiques were Minister Walter Stucki and Ambassador Agostino Soldati (1910–1966).

The axis Solothurn – Paris: The return of the furniture and the families de Besenval and de Broglie

The enfilade at the Hôtel de Besenval from the dining room, to the Salon de la tapisserie and the Salon des perroquets. In the window niche is one of the six chairs of the baron's original furniture ensemble visible. It was Ambassador Agostino Soldati (1910–1966) and his wife Marguerite André-Thome, Comtesse André de Contades (1907–2001), who began to furnish the Hôtel de Besenval with antiques on a large scale in the early 1960s, amongst others with the help of the Galerie Kraemer of Paris, and partly paid for by Swiss industrialists.

A few years after the baron's death in 1791, the baron's furniture, works of art and further belongings from the Hôtel de Besenval were sold at auction in Paris on 10 August 1795. However, already during the baron's lifetime some pieces of furniture as well as paintings and further works of art from the Hôtel de Besenval were sent to his country estate in Switzerland, the Schloss Waldegg, including a furniture ensemble consisting of a sofa and six chairs painted in the so-called gris Trianon (a colour named after the Petit Trianon) and covered in beige fabric embroidered with scenes from the fables of Jean de La Fontaine, except for the sofa, which is covered with a pattern of flowers and birds. The sofa looks slightly different than the chairs. However, since the provenance is the same, it may have already been added to the ensemble by the Baron de Besenval.

Théodora Élisabeth Catherine, Marquise de Broglie, née de Besenval (1718–1777), sister of Pierre Victor de Besenval, who acted as lady of the house at the Hôtel de Besenval, after she separated from her husband, Charles Louis Guillaume, Marquis de Broglie (1716–1786). Portrayed by Jean-Marc Nattier in 1742. Today this portrait is part of the collections of the Nationalmuseum.

The sofa and the six chairs were bought by the Swiss Confederation in 1938 from the patrician family von Sury for a total of CHF4,000. Their ancestor, Josef von Sury von Bussy (1817–1887), who had been married to Charlotte de Besenval (1826–1885) since 26 June 1848, had bought the Schloss Waldegg on 6 February 1865 from the last members of the family de Besenval who were entitled to inherit. With Amédée de Besenval (1862–1927), the main line of the family died out in 1927.

However, the House of Broglie are the descendants of the French line of the family de Besenval. Pierre Victor de Besenval's sister, Théodora Élisabeth Catherine, Marquise de Broglie (1718–1777), was married since 1733 to Charles Louis Guillaume, Marquis de Broglie (1716–1786), a cousin of the Maréchal Victor-François, Duc de Broglie, on whose orders Besenval had withdrawn the troops from Paris on 12 July 1789. But their son, Achille Joseph, Comte de Broglie (1740–1758), died already at the age of 18. Furthermore, the couple separated later, whereupon Pierre Victor de Besenval's sister moved to the Hôtel de Besenval and ran the household for her brother. However, in 1884, Jeanne Eméline Cabot de Dampmartin (1864–1901), granddaughter of Amédée de Besenval (1809–1899), married François, Prince de Broglie (1851–1939). The descendants of this branch of the family de Broglie also had the extensive family archive in their possession until 1980, with many original documents, also from the possession of Pierre Victor de Besenval, and therefore with relevance for the history of the Hôtel de Besenval (75 boxes of documents, dating mainly from the 17th, 18th and 19th century). Today this family archive is in the state archive of the Canton of Solothurn, the hometown of the family de Besenval.

In 1938, after over 150 years, the sofa and the six chairs were brought back to the Hôtel de Besenval, where again they form part of the furnishings of the Salon de la tapisserie.

Alliance Tapestry

The Alliance Tapestry (3.87m x 5.85m) in the Salon de la tapisserie at the Hôtel de Besenval. In the foreground are King Louis XIV (right) and Johann Heinrich Waser (1600–1669), a Swiss politician, Mayor of Zürich and Bailiff of the County of Kyburg. Waser was the head of the Swiss delegation. Behind the king stands his brother Philippe de France, Duc d'Orléans, holding his hat in his hand. Behind Johann Heinrich Waser stands Anton von Graffenried (1597–1674), the Ambassador of Bern.

One of the most significant works of art in the Hôtel de Besenval today is the large 18th-century tapestry in the Salon de la tapisserie, produced in the Gobelins Manufactory. The production of the first copies of these tapestries began already in 1665. The copy in the Hôtel de Besenval was made between 1732 and 1735 in the studio of Dominique de la Croix (head of the studio between 1693 and 1737). The tapestry, woven based on a design by Charles Le Brun and a cartone by Simon Renard de Saint-André, is on loan by the Mobilier National.

The tapestry shows the historic moment of the festivities on 18 November 1663 in the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris on the occasion of the renewal of the mercenary alliance of 1521, the so-called Soldallianz von Luzern, between France and the Swiss, which was negotiated by the two parties in the aftermath of the Battle of Marignano and the peace treaty of 1516, known as Traité de Fribourg or Paix Perpétuelle (Perpetual Peace). It depicts the moment when King Louis XIV, who is the only non-clergyman allowed to wear a hat, and the ambassadors of the Confederation of the XIII cantons, take an oath together on the Bible, in the presence of Cardinal Antonio Barberini and over 150 dignitaries. And so, one after another pronounced the oath concluded by the words of King Louis XIV: "Et moi aussi je le promets" (And I too promise it).

Detail of the Alliance Tapestry: It shows the French ambassador, Jean de La Barde (1602–1692), in the middle of the Swiss delegation with the written copy of the renewed alliance in his hand.

The renewal of the alliance on the French side was negotiated by Jean de La Barde (1602–1692), the French ambassador to the Swiss cantons based in Solothurn. The alliance gave King Louis XIV the right to recruit up to 16,000 Swiss mercenaries. In return, the Swiss received certain trading privileges in France and a lot of money, which made some Swiss patrician families very rich, those families who made their regiments available to the king, like the family de Besenval.

This tapestry is part of the fourteen-episode sequel to the King's story (Histoire du Roi). Seven copies of this so-called Alliance Tapestry were made, since between 1665 and 1742 a total of seven series of the fourteen-episode sequel to the King's story were produced. Four of the seven copies of the Alliance Tapestry have survived. In addition to the copy in the Hôtel de Besenval, there is also a copy in the Château de Versailles, in the Museum of the Gobelins Manufactory, and in the Swiss National Museum in Zürich.

The idea of depicting the main events in the life of King Louis XIV in the medium of the tapestry goes back to Jean Chapelain, an adviser to Jean-Baptiste Colbert. The realization of the fourteen-episode sequel to the King's story – later, three more episodes were added – began in 1665. The aim was to present the most important events in the life of King Louis XIV in the military, civil and diplomatic fields. Since the royal court had a great interest in ensuring that as many people as possible knew about these glorious events, also engravings were later made of the individual tapestries, which were widely distributed and glorified and shaped the image of the king in France as well as abroad.

The renewal of the mercenary alliance with the Swiss was an important success for the French diplomacy. This is also supported by the fact that this episode was presented at all in the King's story.

Entre cour et jardin

The cour d'honneur of the Hôtel de Besenval with the main entrance to the corps de logis, the residence of the Swiss ambassador to France.

The last major construction work on the Hôtel de Besenval, which is a classic example of a so-called residence entre cour et jardin (between courtyard and garden), dates back to the end of the 1990s. This work primarily affected the office space in the non-historical side wings of the Hôtel de Besenval, their attics and the attic of the corps de logis. Roughly said, all parts of the interior of the building that are not listed.

The renovation work, planned and carried out by the architects Herbert Furrer and Marc Zimmermann, was about bringing the infrastructure up to date (electricity and security), making the unused attics usable (working spaces) and creating contemporary workplaces in the existing office space. In order for this renovation work to be carried out efficiently and the embassy's operations to continue smoothly, it was necessary for some of the offices, from April 1998, to be relocated to a temporary facility at 26 Rue Villiot for 18 months.

Restoration of the state rooms

The historical building structure of the corps de logis was only slightly affected by the renovation in the 1990s. It was only in 2017 and the following three years, that the historical interiors of the Hôtel de Besenval were renovated again as part of a larger renovation. On this occasion, the antique furniture was also restored and some of it was reupholstered. A few pieces of antique furniture were also purchased to supplement the furniture. In addition, the curtains were largely replaced. Furthermore, the work also included, amongst others, the renovation of the façades and the roof, the redesign of the commercial kitchen, the repair of the sanitary facilities and the heating, as well as the adaptation of the general electrical installations to today's standards.

The cour d'honneur, however, has resisted all modern fashion trends and renovations for centuries. It is still paved with the historic cobblestones à la Versailles on which already Pierre Victor de Besenval left his mark.

An English landscape garden in Paris

The garden façade of the Hôtel de Besenval. The garden borders that of the Hôtel de Monaco which houses the residence of the Ambassador of Poland to France.

Pierre Victor de Besenval had the garden of his residence on the Rue de Grenelle converted into an English landscape garden and cultivated rare and exotic plants in specially designed greenhouses. To obtain seeds and specimens of rare plants like orchids, jasmines and tulips, the baron was able to draw on a wide network of friends. In 1785, for example, he received bulbs of unknown flowers from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa through Colonel Charles-Daniel de Meuron from Neuchâtel.

Last but not least, the baron also managed to inspire Queen Marie-Antoinette with his passion for rare plants. At his suggestion, the queen had various precious plant species planted in the garden of the Petit Trianon.

A plant named after the Baron de Besenval

As in the field of the arts, the baron was also a patron in the field of botany. In 1782, Pierre-Joseph Buc'hoz named a plant after the baron to thank him for his support. Unfortunately, this plant had already received its scientific name a few years earlier and is therefore not known today as Besenvalia senegalensis but as Oncoba spinosa.

Further reading

The frontispiece of the first edition of the memoirs of the Baron de Besenval showing his portrait. The memoirs were published by Joseph-Alexandre Pierre, Vicomte de Ségur, between 1805 and 1806 in four volumes. The publication caused a scandal among the aristocracy since the baron did not hesitate to describe the life and the habits at the French royal court during the last years of the Ancien Régime in all its scandalous details by also naming the protagonists. The family de Besenval questioned the authenticity of the memoirs and distanced themselves from them. Only a few copies of the fourth and last volume were printed.

In alphabetical order

• Olivier Bauermeister: Le nymphée de l'hôtel de Besenval, Zeitschrift « Kunst und Architektur in der Schweiz », 2013, Band 64, Heft 2
• Pierre Victor, Baron de Besenval de Brunstatt: Contes de M. Le Baron de Besenval, Lieutenant Général des Armées du Roi, avec une notice bio-bibliographique par Octave Uzanne, A. Quantin, imprimeur-éditeur, tirage à petit nombre, 7, rue Saint-Benoît, Paris, 1881
• Pierre Victor, Baron de Besenval de Brunstatt: Mémoires de M. Le Baron de Besenval, écrits par lui-même, imprimés sur son manuscrit original et publiés par son exécuteur testamentaire M. A. J. de Ségur, imprimerie de Jeunehomme, rue de Sorbonne no. 4, Paris, 1805 – chez F. Buisson, libraire, rue Hautefeuille no. 31, Paris
• Jacques-François Blondel: Architecture Françoise, ou recueil des plans, élévations, coupes et profiles des Eglises, Maisons Royales, Palais, & Edifices les plus considérables de Paris, ainsi que des Châteaux et Maisons de plaisance situés aux environs de cette ville, ou en d'autres endroits de la France, bâtis par les plus célèbres architectes, & mesurés exactement sur les lieux, tome premier, contenant une introduction à l'architecture, un abrégé historique de la ville de Paris, & la description des principaux édifices du Faubourg St. Germain, chapitre XII: Description de l'Hôtel de Pompadour, situé rue de Grenelle. Chez Charles-Antoine Jombert, Libraire du Roi pour le Génie & l'Artillerie, rue Dauphine, Paris, 1752, pp. 236–237
• Germain Brice: Nouvelle description de la ville de Paris et de tout ce qu'elle contient de plus remarquable, 8ème édition, tome III, chez Julien-Michel Gandouin, Quai de Conty, aux trois Verus, et François Fournier, rue S. Jacques, aux Armes de la Ville, Paris, 1725, pp. 453–454
• Gabrielle Claerr Stamm: De Soleure à Paris : La saga de la famille de Besenval, seigneurs de Brunstatt, Riedisheim et Didenheim, Société d'Histoire du Sundgau, 2015
• Jean-Jacques de Dardel: L’hôtel de Besenval – siège de l'ambassade de Suisse en France, Labor et Fides, Genève, 2013
• Jean-Jacques de Dardel: 1663: Le Renouvellement de l'Alliance avec le Roi de France – histoire et tapisserie, Labor et Fides, Genève, 2013
• Jean-Jacques Fiechter: Le Baron Pierre-Victor de Besenval, Delachaux et Niestlé, Lausanne – Paris, 1993
• Jean-Jacques Fiechter: Baron Peter Viktor von Besenval: Ein Solothurner am Hofe von Versailles, Rothus Verlag, Solothurn, 1994
• Jean-Jacques Fiechter / Benno Schubiger: L'Ambassade de Suisse à Paris, Ambassade de Suisse, 2ème édition, août 1994
• Paul Gallois: Baron de Besenval's eclectic eye, The Furniture History Society, London, Newsletter 221, February 2021, pp. 1–12
• Martin Körner: Allianzen, Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (HLS), online, Version vom 19.09.2006
• Charles Lefeuve: Histoire de Paris – rue par rue, maison par maison, 5ème édition, tome IV, C. Reinwald et Cie, 15, rue des Saints-Pères, Paris, 1875
• Collections Louvre: Paris, Hôtel de Besenval – nymphée souterrain à l'antique, Département des Arts graphiques, Alexandre Théodore Brongniart ,
• Elisabeth Martin de Clausonne: Ambassades à Paris, Nicolas Chaudun, Paris, 2009
• Sigrid Pallmert: Der Allianzteppich und die Fragen von Selbstdarstellung, Repräsentation und Rezeption, Zeitschrift « Kunst und Architektur in der Schweiz », 2002, Band 53, Heft 1
• Jean-Pierre Samoyault: L'Hôtel de Besenval – Ambassade de Suisse en France, Editions internationales du Patrimoine, Paris, 2017
• Matthias Steiner: Virtuelle und physische Repräsentation des historischen und aktuellen Zustands des « Nymphée de l’Hôtel de Besenval », Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz – Hochschule für Architektur, Bau und Geomatik, Bachelor-Thesis 2021 BSc in Geomatik (Produktion eines Modells des Nymphäums im 3D-Druck im Massstab 1:30)
• Alain Stella: Historic Houses of Paris – Residences of the Ambassadors, Flammarion, Paris, 2010
• Luc-Vincent Thiéry: Guide des amateurs et des étrangers voyageurs à Paris, ou Description raisonnée de cette Ville, de sa Banlieue, et de tout ce qu'elles contiennent de remarquable, tome II, chapitre 'Hôtel de M. le Baron de Besenval,' pp. 574–580, Libraire Hardouin & Gattey, Paris, 1787
• Alain-Jacques Tornare: 10 août 1792 – Les Tuileries : L'été tragique des relations franco-suisses, Collection Le savoir suisse – La série « Grandes Dates », presse polytechniques et universitaires romandes, première édition, 2012
• J. Vacquier: Les vieux hôtels de Paris – Le Faubourg Saint-Germain, décorations extérieures et intérieures, tome I, F. Contet, Paris, 1911

External links

• Stéphane Bern and his team visiting the Swiss Ambassador, Bernardino Regazzoni, at the Hôtel de Besenval in 2016
• The Hérès Company was commissioned to create the decorative stone elements of a swimming pool built into the basement of a 17th century hôtel particulier in Paris. For this hôtel particulier, the Hôtel Amelot de Bisseuil, also called Hôtel des Ambassadeurs de Hollande, Hérès came up with a decor inspired by antiquity, influenced by a project carried out by Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart in 1782 for Pierre Victor, Baron de Besenval de Brunstatt for his nymphaeum at the Hôtel de Besenval. Hérès designed a swimming pool with a décor of columns, flat vaults and sculptures in the round and in bas-relief with a view to recreating the original ambiance of a nymphaeum in ancient times