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Bosc Castle Childhood of Toulouse-Lautrec


If Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, was born in Albi on the 24 November 1864, he spent his holidays in the Familly stronghold, Château du Bosc. It was here, in the lounge, that on the 30 may 1878, he slipped off a chair breaking his left femur. The following year, he broke his right femur in ravine. These two falls together meant that by the age of 15 Lautrec was disabled and thus headed in the direction of an artistic career. The family museum contains a wall where the size of the adults and the children in the family were measured and marked since 1850. Here we find Lautrec’s height at age 18, in 1882, stopping at 1m52.

His gifted talent was encouraged by the fact that his father and uncles after returning from a hunt would proceed to draw with as much fervour as the fervour of their chase for game. In relation to the family’s hereditary artistic traits, Lautrec was told « we all have a yearning for the pencil ». This trait dates back to the end of the XVIII century with the chevalier du Bosc and still carries on today.Encouraged and supported in his new pursuits, Lautrec studied in the classical branch, and worked hard in the Cormon and the Bonnat studios thereafter. In le Château du Bosc, you will learn about not about his furious artist’s time in Paris, Moulin Rouge and so on, but only a about ihis life in Bosc.
You will discover bedroom represents the painter’s childhood featuring his crib, games, puppet theatre and the boat he made after his first accident. Two paintings attract your attention: Above the fireplace there is a painting of Louis-Ignace d’Imbert du Bosc who was fatally wounded in the Battle of Fontenoy in 1745 during the War of the Austrian Succession between english and french. Famous in France, fot this sentence : “Messieurs les Anglais, tirez les premiers.

 

A Superb Castle
This stronghold of the Imbert du Bosc is a superb castle. It always remained in the hands of its family members, changed family names with Amédée who only had daughters, passing on the property to his eldest daughter Gabrielle (1813-1902) who married Raymond de Toulouse Lautrec who was known as the « Black Prince » (1812 – 1871). Their eldedst son Alphonse (1838 – 1913), married his first cousin Adèle Tapie de Celeyran (1841 – 1930), and they were the parents of Henri and Richard (1867 – 1868). Lautrec was thus the heir to Bosc, but due to an early death – just before turning 37 – the rights were passed on to his father’s sister Alix (1846 – 1918), who married her first cousin Amédée Tapie de Celeyran, Adèles brother (1844 – 1925). They had14 children and the eldest of the painter’s first cousins Raoul Tapie de Celeyran (1868 – 1937) inherited Bosc. Today, its is a his grand daughter Nicole Tapie de Celeyran who welcomes you at le Bosc.
And a stronghod against English soldiers and merceneries.
During the hundred years war the region of Rouergue was occupied by the English and became subject to roadside looting. The building as it stands has a quadrilateral shape and the closed courtyard is surrounded by a porch and a crenellated postern. The windows of the current structure were added during the second half of the XIXth century. This corresponded with the time that the old moats were filled.