Jean Lubin Vauzelle - View Of Roucy Castle (aisne) - Watercolor

Watercolor on paper, produced in 1829 and signed lower left.
Dimensions: 26 × 40 cm sight; 45.5 × 59.5 cm with frame.

This work depicts a view of the château de Roucy, with the village of Sarrins visible on the right.

Jean-Lubin Vauzelle was a French painter, watercolorist and architectural draughtsman. A pupil of Hubert Robert and probably Jean-Charles Nicaise Perrin, he exhibited at the Paris Salon from 1799, presenting a drawing of a room in the new Musée des Monuments français directed by Alexandre Lenoir, as well as two female portraits. Winner of the gold medal in 1810, he participated regularly in the Salons, and in 1827 was awarded the silver medal at the Salon de Cambrai.

In 1800, he accompanied the Comte de Laborde to Spain, where he produced numerous views of monuments and landscapes. This watercolor of the Château de Roucy perfectly illustrates Vauzelle's mastery of both landscape and architecture.

The Château de Roucy was originally a fortified castle built in 948 on the summit of a rocky spur. Today, only the remains of one of the feudal castle's towers remain. A new castle was built between 1545 and 1556 by Charles, sire de Roye, 23ᵉ comte de Roucy. His daughter Charlotte brought the county of Roucy to the House of La Rochefoucauld as a dowry through her marriage to François, who made the Roucy estate his principal residence and undertook extensive work in the Renaissance style.

In 1785, the château underwent further alterations under the direction of Armand-Joseph de Béthune, Duc de Charost, who had it partially demolished and rebuilt according to a new plan. The interior was completely redesigned, with the first floor of the central pavilion now forming a vast room in the Louis XVI style. Jean-Lubin Vauzelle also painted the château's interior. This watercolor was sold by Christie's on June 1, 2005.

Restoration and enlargement work was not completed until 1870 by architect Boeswilwald, under the direction of Louis de Vassinhac, comte d'Imécourt, who died in 1871. The château was subsequently abandoned as a summer residence. In 1917, just a few kilometers from the front line, it was bombed by the Germans. Rather than being restored, the château's stones were used to rebuild damaged public monuments in the Reims region.

This watercolor is a remarkable demonstration of Jean-Lubin Vauzelle's talent, bringing together his two specialties, landscape and architecture. It also bears witness to the existence of an unusual château, now no longer in existence.