Château de By, Thomery, France - SpottingHistory.com

The Château de By is a town museum run by the town of Thomery. The building was purchased in 1859 by the French animal painter Rosa Bonheur, who moved her studio there. Aged 37, she was at the height of her popularity and made the building her home and studio for forty years, with pens for her animals in its park. She rebuilt the chateau to make it comfortable and to add a vast neo-Gothic studio room with the space and light she needed. It was in the chateau that empress Eugenie presented her with her Légion d'Honneur in 1865.

The museum mainly consists of objects relating to Bonheur's everyday life (including a Native American costume given her by Buffalo Bill) and the building has remained unchanged since her death in 1899, other than the sale of all the paintings it once contained.

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User Reviews

Martin Dyer (2 years ago)
A good place to drink tea in the afternoon

Hans-Christian Bohlmann (2 years ago)
Atelier authentique. La guide charmante et compétente vous expose la vie et l'œuvre de Rosa Bonheur avec beaucoup de passion pour cette grande artiste. Très intéressant aussi pour des enfants et adolescents intéressés par l'art et les animaux. L'état original des pièces ajoute à la magie du lieu. Salon de thé avec grand choix de thés et délicieuses pâtisseries.

Rodrigo Ferreira (2 years ago)
Unique!

Nicki Bagatta (2 years ago)
A beautiful place and well worth the visit. The guided tour gives great insights into the life of Rosa Bonheur. Well done to the new owners for putting Rosa Bonheur back into the spotlight, and for giving her her rightful place in history.

Trent Vance (2 years ago)
Great experience. Very informative and lovely guide, who we learned at the end speaks English perfectly. We took the tour in French but English language tours are also available. Rosa Bonheur was a lively and eccentric character worth learning about and this is a must-see museum if you're in the area. Gift shop and tea room look like they'll be very nice (to open the day after we visited).

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In 2004, the church was included in the Tentative List of UNESCO"s World Heritage Sites.

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