Photo : Jack ma / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Château de Beaulon
The Château de Beaulon, in the Charente-Maritime, was built by the Vinsons family around 1480, at the end of the reign of Louis XI. At the dawn of the Renaissance its architecture was still strongly influenced by Flamboyant Gothic.
The north façade reveals the original style of the building, apart from the wings added on either side. The left dormer, the key element of the composition, is a sumptuous example of medieval architecture at its height: set above a column of windows, it stands out against the dark slate roof, with sculpted floral ornaments, curly kale and crockets on its small pinnacles. The second dormer, in Renaissance style, contrasts with its classical restraint and underlines, without spoiling the harmony of the whole, the asymmetry of a building that has come through five centuries of history.
