The Tamesis
Paradise in Provence by Hamish Bowles was originally published in the September 2004 issue Fashion.
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The guestbook at Janet de Botton’s dazzling mansion in the south of France says it all. In his Florentine paper binding, the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ anarchist Anthony Kiedis found an unlikely page friend in JAR’s dream jeweler Joel Rosenthal. Damien Hirst’s sketch of a female torso, blood gushing from severed limbs, is a shocking acknowledgment that rivals some of the strictest black-letter-named eulogies of high society. But perhaps decorator and society scribe Nicholas Haslam’s rococo scrolls, witty paraphrasing of Cole Porter’s play, best evoke the magic of the house and its belt:
“It’s delightful, it’s delicious, it’s the South of France, it’s paradise, it’s Bourton, it’s the best, it’s luxurious, it’s lovely -“
As her guestbook suggests, de Botton isn’t afraid of confusion. The stylish British woman, a discerning art collector, paired her unexpected walls with pieces by Francis Bacon and Chris Ofili in her London townhouse, where royal gilded wood furniture signed by the great French maker of the eighteenth century was combined with monolithic marble seating by sculptor Scott Burton. De Botton is also very smart – she has a professional bridge team that plays at a championship level. Her opponent was the charismatic Gilbert de Botton, with whom she was married for ten years until his death in 2000. Born in the subtle, cosmopolitan and mysterious city of Alexandria, de Botton was a visionary financier who shared his wife’s love of art – he was the only person to be painted by both Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon. The library of the house attests to his vast knowledge. “I spent hours on the ladder just looking at the headlines,” Haslam said. “His knowledge is vast.”
Ten years ago, Gilbert de Botton discovered that the Burgundy chateau that had been the home of the sixteenth-century essayist Montaigne was for sale. Seduced by the intellectual idea of recreating a library worthy of its former inhabitants, de Botton decided to acquire it. However, Janet has no intention of spending time in staid, harsh Burgundy, no matter how legendary her surroundings. She was a force of nature, she prevailed, and the couple duly turned south in search. Castles in Provence are generally designed to withstand the harsh local climate. To keep cool during the hot summer months and to protect against the mistara winds (strong winds that can rage at any time of the year). For conservation reasons, farmers built barriers of crumbling poplar trees to protect their crops and supported their homes with high walls that created shady courtyard refuges but blocked views. However, for an extrovert like de Botton, the claustrophobic effect was not what she had imagined for a holiday home, and estate after estate was duly dismissed. Eventually, however, the couple discovered a cattle ranch that stretched over 1,000 acres from the rugged, rocky wilderness of Lebo, dotted with Saracen towers, to the reedy wilderness of the Camargue below. On the plateau dividing these two contrasting landscapes sits a huge barn. Finally, here is a building with a great view.
