Hôtel du Châtelet

The Hotel du Châtelet stands as a masterpiece of neoclassical architecture on the Rue de Grenelle, commissioned in 1770 by the Duke of Châtelet. The architect, Mathurin Cherpitel, designed the residence to showcase a return to antiquity, featuring a majestic courtyard entrance anchored by colossal Corinthian columns. Its façade on the garden side is celebrated for an avant-corps, a projecting part of the building, that uses angled corners to create a graceful contrast with the structure above. The interior originally featured a famous cabinet of Chinese lacquer panels, a reflection of the intense, fashionable interest in chinoiserie that defined the tastes of the French aristocracy during that era.