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106 - Villandry and the Fate of the Carvallo Family as Seen by Ren…
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Estimate €2,000 - €4,000
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Description
Villandry and the Fate of the Carvallo Family as Seen by René Benjamin, 1921–1948 A collection of manuscripts, notes, proofs and publications FIND THE FULL AND DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THIS LOT IN OUR ONLINE AUCTION CATALOGUE A rare collection of handwritten notes compiled over more than two decades: anecdotes, conversations, testimonies and confidences gathered during visits, dinners and interviews, analysing the personality of Joachim Carvallo, recounting the transformation and gradual revival of Villandry Castle and its gardens, the formation of the collection of Spanish paintings, his difficult relationship with his wife and children, his dealings with women (the Marquise de Chasseloup, the Countess de Vibraye), visits to and critiques of other historic residences, his battle with illness, etc. First-hand sources used in the drafting of his articles and publications. These include: Villandry, Dr Carvallo, initial notes, 1921, handwritten notes in pencil by René Benjamin, on loose sheets in-8, 33 pp. Over 300 pp. in-12 and in-8 on loose sheets of handwritten notes in pen by René Benjamin, between 1921 and 1948; including 14 March 1923: Carvallo comes for dinner, with Mrs Lambert. Impromptu. This Carvallo really lifts my spirits. With him, it’s impossible to feel downcast or pessimistic. You believe. He is wonderfully earthy, like Daudet (Spanish realism: “when he speaks, in one passage, of little children ‘with their bellies hanging out from soup!’”) and he has a sense of poetry, mysticism and kindness that Daudet lacks. In his exuberance, everything is full of good humour. Nothing in his threats to the beast is anything but wildly cheerful! Agile, skilful hands. A generously cut, loose-fitting jacket. He recounts that when he receives people who cannot understand Villandry, very quickly, with joy, he tells them: ‘Come on… let’s go and eat!’ And he leads them off to the Tea Room! Villandry, 6–9 April 1923. The man is more extraordinary than ever. Science Carvallo at Ussé, 6 October 1924 Carvallo in his gallery with a friend, 1924 Carvallo dines with us, 7 December 1924 late July 1926 at Villandry Lunch at our house, 9 December 1927 One morning in the gardens, 27 September 1929 11 September 1931: a visit to Chenonceaux Plans for the purchase of the Château de Vendôme by La Demeure Historique, 1932 His collection of paintings Villandry, 6 September 1935: the various gardens The final visit to Carvallo Carvallo’s death, 9 March 1936: the actions and words of each person 29 August 1938 Two years after Joachim Carvallo’s death, Benjamin returns to Villandry and notes with bitterness the state of neglect of the estate, the behaviour he deems unworthy of the new master of the house (the ‘baron’), the erasure of the deceased’s memory by the guides, and the eccentric disorder in which the widow lives 25 November 1940 Madame Carvallo died last night On the evening of 6 November 1943, after the second attempt to sell the property April 1946 account of the scandalous affair between the Swiss counsellor Montenach and Isabelle de Carvallo Villandry Castle or the Face of France Handwritten draft, with deletions, corrections and additions, 56 pp., in-8 Article published in the *Revue Universelle* on 15 December 1921 Handwritten draft, with crossings-out, corrections and additions, 84 pp., in-8 Printer’s proofs with crossings-out and corrections, 1926, for publication in *Minerve et le Charcutier*
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About the sale René Benjamin, the 20th-century Balzac scholar
Auction location
Auction time 10/06/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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