Clotilde Brewster and the Côte d'Azur - Part I

We are pleased to present the first part of a series of four blogposts by Laura Fitzmaurice – author of the forthcoming book Clotilde Brewster: Pioneering Woman Architect – which invite us to join the author as she retraces Brewster's steps through the South of France... 

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November 1, 2024 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of the first international woman architect, Clotilde Brewster (1874-1937). Over the years, I’ve catalogued much of her work, but because her projects span multiple countries, it has been challenging to visit them in person and experience them first hand. Recently, I had the wonderful opportunity to spend the autumn months in Nice, France, near Menton, where Clotilde designed a mausoleum. This time allowed me to conduct in-depth local research, revealing not only her family's connection to the area but also the significant historical influence of the British who once called Menton home.

THE HEARN MAUSOLEUM, MENTON, FRANCE

Figure 1: Postcard dated between 1905 - 1910 of the new cemetery in Menton later called ‘Cimetière du Trabuquet.’ The tempietto seen near the top is the Hearn Mausoleum.

Figure 2: Postcard depicting the Hearn Mausoleum circa 1920. Courtesy of Mig Olive. [See this view compared with today, HERE]

Clotilde Brewster was commissioned to design the mausoleum in Menton by her father’s maternal first cousin, Julia Frances Ellen Hearn, known as ‘Ellen’ to her family. Born in London in 1849, Ellen passed away in Menton in 1931 at the age of 81. Her husband, Anglo-American Dr. Alfred Williams Hearn, died in July 1903 at the relatively young age of 61. His health had been failing for a number of years and his death was not unexpected. The couple owned multiple properties, including a townhouse in London and a seaside villa overlooking Garavan Bay in eastern Menton. In early August, just weeks after Alfred’s death at their third home in Eastbourne, East Sussex, Clotilde wrote to her father, mentioning that Ellen had hired her to design a grave monument. Though having died in England, Alfred’s wish was to be buried in Menton. Clotilde created a perspective watercolor sketch of the proposed mausoleum, which took the form of a classical tempietto. The design was approved, and the project moved forward.

Figure 3:  Watercolor of the Hearn Mausoleum. Courtesy of the Hibbert-Hingston family.

In late October she wrote again to her father from the Munich home of her mentor, sculptor and architect Adolf Hildebrand, whom she was visiting, ‘I drew all the details of the mausoleum and some other sketches. I am finishing the model of the sarcophagus then I leave.’ She travelled onto Menton from Munich, and stayed a couple of weeks to measure the parcel and submit a plan to the city of Menton. It’s likely she also met with contractors during this time. A dramatic site was selected for the mausoleum in Menton’s ‘new cemetery’ (now called the Cimetière du Trabuquet), perched high above the medieval town. To reach it on foot, as I did, one must navigate a labyrinth of narrow, stair-like paths winding steeply upward. Seeing it in person gave me a true sense of its scale, something photographs simply couldn't convey. As I explored the cemetery, I noticed many graves with Anglo-Saxon names, a testament to the strong British presence in the area. Opposite the Hearn Mausoleum, was a large plot with the graves of local French soldiers who died in WWI.

Figure 4: Dramatic siting of the monument. View taken near British Illustrator Aubrey Beardsley’s tomb in the same cemetery.

Figure 5: Detail of mausoleum.

Figure 6: The Hearn Mausoleum on the left with graves of WWI soldiers on the right.

Figure 7: Inside view of the tempietto’s dome.

Shortly after its completion in 1905, the mausoleum began to appear in postcards and even paintings. While researching Ellen Hearn and her residence, Villa Saint-Louis, at the Menton municipal library, I came across a watercolor by artist Ernest Lessieux (1838–1925). The painting, a view of Menton from Chemin du Trabuquet, beautifully captures the landscape surrounding the mausoleum and offers a glimpse into the area's artistic heritage. The Cote d’Azur has inspired many famous painters.

Figure 8: Ise hauteurs de Menton, watercolor by Ernest Lissieux[i]

In April of 1905, Clotilde and her new husband Percy Feilding travelled to Menton to see the finished monument. Clotilde wrote to her father: “The mausoleum looks quite good; the wrought iron railings are a dream. Ellen is convinced Alfred is below or above and contemplates each with happiness. Her Russian friend is so happy with it she begged us to build her a chapel in Moscow! It’s a little far but nothing is denied to our great Royal continental architecture office.”

Ellen’s Russian friend who requested the chapel design was Anna Alexandrovna Levtchenko (1859-1937) who, along with her mother, owned the Villa San Valentino and its gardens right next to Ellen’s property, the Villa Saint Louis, both located in the Garavan section of Menton, near the frontier. According to The Menton & Monte Carlo News, they visited the villa in 1901 and completed the purchase in April 1902. The Levtchenkos appeared to be the only Russians residing in the Garavan area, though there was a small but notable Russian community in Menton proper. They most likely came here for health reasons.

Figure 9 : The Villa San Valentino © Région Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur - Inventaire général - Frédéric Pauvarel, 2016. The villa saw a number of additions and modifications since it was first built.

The Villa San Valentino still stands though the gardens do not. They are preserved however by a pair of oil paintings by Ernest-Louis Lessieux titled Pergola San Valentino Menton and La maison fleurie. It is not certain that second painting La maison fleurie is a depiction of the Villa San Valentino but certainly it is in Menton and gives an idea of its gardens.

According to the 2012 book Les russes à Menton by Marie-Josée Rizzi, Anna Levtchenko was from a noble family from southern Russia and the painter of magnificent watercolors. Both Anna and Ellen were accomplished singers who regularly gave recitals, both individually and together, in their homes. These performances were often featured in the social columns of the local newspaper.

Figure 10 & Figure 11: Pergola San Valentino Menton (L) and La maison fleurie (R) a pair of paintings by Ernest-Louis Lessieux. Oil on panels (2), 14 x 18 cm (2).[ii]

Figure 12: Anna Alexandrovna Levtchenko (1859-1937) taken in Menton, 1924.[iii] Courtesy of Marie-Josée Rizzi.

When Anna asked Clotilde to design a chapel, it was actually intended as a burial chapel for her father, Alexander Iosifovich Levtchenko, who had passed away in 1899. In Clotilde's portfolio at Beckley Park, there is a perspective sketch of a classical-style chapel, which may have been her proposal for the project. However, the plan never moved forward. Instead, the Levtchenko burial chapel, completed in the early twentieth century, was designed by Moscow architect Roman Klein in the Russian Art Nouveau style and is located in the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow.[iv]

Figure 13: The Levtchenko family tomb in Moscow. Courtesy of Marie-Josée Rizzi.

 

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Clotilde Brewster: Pioneering Woman Architect officially publishes on 20th November 2024. Pre-order now:

NOTES: 

[i] Copied from the article Ernest Lessieux, le chantre pictural de Menton, (Ou Païs Mentounasc N° 175 du 01/09/2020, p. 7)

[ii] https://www.artnet.fr/artistes/ernest-louis-lessieux/la-maison-fleurie-et-pergola-san-valentino-menton-b0seRnx_N2I8U4lTbFUpXg2

[iii] Death certificate of Anna Levtchenko daughter of Alexander Levtchenko and Tatiana Krupenina states Anna was born in Moscow and died in Menton. She is buried in the Cimetière du Trabuquet in a plot purchased by Ellen Hearn’s nephew, Philip Joubert de la Ferté. Ville de Menton, Service du Patrimoine.

[iv] Levtchenko burial chapel http://www.temples.ru/show_picture.php?PictureID=31175