Beauregard: A Gallery of 327 Portraits
Centre-Val de Loire, France
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Château de Beauregard
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225
XP
+100 France
= 325 total
1 day
Beauregard: A Gallery of 327 Portraits
225 + 100 XP
Beauregard, about ten kilometres south of Blois on the edge of the forest of Russy, is known for one room. Paul Ardier bought the house in 1617, at seventy-two, having just come out of fifty-five years in the service of Henry III, Henry IV and Louis XIII as controller-general of war and grand treasurer; he pulled down the old lodge, flanked the Renaissance central gallery with two matching new wings, and filled that gallery with 327 portraits of the political figures of the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The Galerie des Illustres runs from Philippe VI's accession in 1328 to the death of Louis XIII in 1643 — 315 years, 26 countries, canvases ordered from Paris painters between 1620 and 1638 — and three generations of the family worked on it for sixty years. Its floor is 150 m² of Delft tiles showing an army on the march, the largest Delft pavement in the world.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Walk the 26 metres of the gallery and read the hang: 327 canvases of about 55 by 45 cm, three tiers high, in twelve panels right round the room, every sitter a bust except two — and find the two, Henri IV on horseback over the chimneypiece and Louis XIII
2
of 4
Use the name and office written at the top of each canvas to work the gallery end to end, from Philippe VI in 1328 to the death of Louis XIII in 1643, and find the ones a French collector had no obligation to hang: Edward III, first of seven English kings here, the Black Prince and Talbot among the generals, and Mary Stuart beside François II, labelled queen of France and Scotland
3
of 4
Look down, not up: the gallery floor is 150 m² of some 5,500 Delft tiles, the largest Delft tile pavement in the world, and it shows an entire army on the march — find the seventeen separate regiments in their Louis XIII kit and work out which way the column is going
4
of 4
Follow the panelling below the portraits, where Pierre Mosnier painted the device and emblem of each king of France, then look up at the blue of the beamed ceiling — ground lapis lazuli, a pigment reckoned at seven times the price of gold when it was laid on
Walk the 26 metres of the gallery and read the hang: 327 canvases of about 55 by 45 cm, three tiers high, in twelve panels right round the room, every sitter a bust except two — and find the two, Henri IV on horseback over the chimneypiece and Louis XIII
Use the name and office written at the top of each canvas to work the gallery end to end, from Philippe VI in 1328 to the death of Louis XIII in 1643, and find the ones a French collector had no obligation to hang: Edward III, first of seven English kings here, the Black Prince and Talbot among the generals, and Mary Stuart beside François II, labelled queen of France and Scotland
Look down, not up: the gallery floor is 150 m² of some 5,500 Delft tiles, the largest Delft tile pavement in the world, and it shows an entire army on the march — find the seventeen separate regiments in their Louis XIII kit and work out which way the column is going
Follow the panelling below the portraits, where Pierre Mosnier painted the device and emblem of each king of France, then look up at the blue of the beamed ceiling — ground lapis lazuli, a pigment reckoned at seven times the price of gold when it was laid on
Before you go
Check opening days before going.
Beauregard is open every day from 3 April to 11 November and closed for the winter; outside that season it takes booked groups only. The gallery is on the first floor, reached by stairs.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
225 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
325 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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