Description
An Art Nouveau Villa in Fontainebleau
Built in 1906 by Jules Viatte, this villa served as his residence and workplace until his death. It showcases the architect-artist’s affinity for the picturesque inventiveness of the Art Nouveau movement. The villa is locally listed as a remarkable heritage site.
Set on a 403 m² wooded plot, the villa spans a surface area of 303 m².
On the ground floor, an entrance leads to a kitchen and magnificent reception rooms, including a dining room, living room, and a studio-office space with a zenithal skylight. This area features a mezzanine leading to the villa’s 37 m² roof terrace. A few steps down from the living spaces is a summer lounge with independent access.
A beautifully crafted wooden staircase, illuminated by a stained-glass window from the Nancy School depicting an orange tree, leads to the first-floor landing. This level features three bedrooms, one with access to the roof terrace, and two bathrooms. The second floor includes two additional bedrooms, a bathroom, storage spaces, and access to the attic via a retractable staircase.
The partially underground basement houses a functional kitchen, an office, a laundry room, a boiler room, a cellar, and storage spaces.
Located just steps away from the city center, in a sought-after neighborhood known for its elegance, history, and architectural quality, the villa is close to shops, schools, and the Fontainebleau forest. It is an 18-minute bus ride from the Fontainebleau/Avon train station on the R line, which connects to Paris in 45 minutes.
Synthesis of the Arts
The villa’s architecture combines a picturesque and Art Nouveau vocabulary, aligning with the European movement that rejected neoclassicism. Its asymmetrical silhouette consists of three heterogeneous volumes with an exterior envelope featuring bicolor bricks and masonry elements on a stone base. The various openings are topped with full or depressed arches, reflecting the interior layout of the house, such as the large staircase window on the main facade, which follows the progression of the indoor staircase.
The interior spaces feature elaborate decor and luxurious materials: medieval-inspired woodwork, numerous decorative fireplaces made of marble, wood, ceramic, or sandstone, floral mosaics on the floor, especially in the entrance and winter garden, vegetal moldings, and bathrooms adorned with blue or pink marble. The staircase leading to the bedrooms is illuminated by a monumental stained-glass window from the Nancy School, a tribute to the spearhead of the Art Nouveau movement in France.
Jules Viatte, Architect from Fontainebleau
Jules Viatte (1872-1922) was an architect, archaeologist, painter, and engraver from northern France. He studied architecture with Edmond Paulin and decoration with Eugène Grasset, a student of Alfons Mucha, a leading figure of the Art Nouveau movement.
In 1898, Jules Viatte settled in Fontainebleau and took over the practice of architect Naudé. He worked during a period of architectural expansion in the city and was responsible for significant construction projects. He designed numerous residences in Fontainebleau, including the Art Nouveau-style Villa Javal, the neoclassical Hôtel Reus, and the Anglo-Norman-style Villa Matry, as well as the Félix-Herbet school (now Collège Lucien-Cézard). He also conceived several unrealized projects, such as a savings bank and a theater, which, although awarded, was not selected. He designed the Omnia cinema hall (initially a multi-purpose hall for theater, cinema, and meetings) as the architect for Omnia-Pathé, and the clubhouse or “chalet” of the Fontainebleau Golf Course in 1909.
“The chosen location is admirable. A pavilion of the most delightful taste, which Monsieur Viatte, the well-known architect, has erected on a hill, allows for lunch and tea. Monsieur Paul Tavernier has painted the pleasures of the seasons in Fontainebleau with the most charming decorative sentiment.”
La Vie Heureuse, October 15, 1909
In 1920, Jules Viatte created “L’Artistique,” an association of painters, sculptors, and architects from the region, to organize exhibitions, lectures, and concerts in the festival hall of the Fontainebleau theater.
“L’endroit choisi est admirable. Un pavillon du goût le plus heureux, que Monsieur Viatte, l’architecte bien connu, a élevé sur une éminence, permet de déjeuner et de prendre le thé. Monsieur Paul Tavernier y a peint avec le plus joli sentiment décoratif, les plaisirs des saisons à Fontainebleau”
La Vie Heureuse, 15 octobre 1909
Technical Information
Price: €1,430,000
Fees at the buyer’s expense
Amount of fees: 4.38% or €60,000
Price excluding fees: €1,370,000
Full ownership
Property tax 2024: €4,114
Heating: Air-pulsed gas, ventilation grilles
Wooden single-glazed windows
Renovation work required (exterior work 50% covered by the heritage foundation)
Average energy costs indexed on January 1, 2021: between €4,979 and €6,737 per year (including subscriptions)
