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The Elsa Triolet-Aragon House

Listed as a historical monument, the Moulin de Villeneuve (Ile de France) was the home of the famous poet couple Elsa Triolet and Louis Aragon. They wrote some of the most beautiful pages of French literature in this country residence which, still today, inspires and encourages artistic creation.

An emblematic couple of 20th century French literature

Elsa Triolet and Louis Aragon acquired this former 12th century water mill in 1951. Surrounded by a 6-hectare park, this place near Paris served as a setting and source of inspiration for their writings but also as a bucolic refuge for their famous artist friends: Pablo Picasso, Fernand Léger, Pablo Neruda... Focus on the profile of these 2 great literary figures:

  • The first woman to win the Goncourt Prize, the Russian-born Elsa Triolet was, before being able to live from her pen, the translator of Chekhov, a designer of necklaces for haute couture and a reporter for Russian newspapers. After a first marriage that gave her her French name, this member of the Resistance during the Second World War met Louis Aragon in Paris in 1928. She lived in the Montparnasse district and stayed in the famous hotel on street Campagne-Première which also housed Marcel Duchamp, Francis Picabia and Man Ray.
  • For his part, Louis Aragon, along with André Breton and Paul Éluard, was one of the actors of Dadaism and Surrealism, artistic movements from which he would eventually detach himself but which would have a lasting influence on his work. At the same time poet, novelist and journalist, he made Elsa Triolet his muse and owes his posterity partly to singers (Léo Ferré, Jean Ferrat, Barbara...) who adapted his poems into songs. 

The place

At the center of a documentary by Agnès Varda on the mythical literary couple, the Mill of Villeneuve is composed of an apartment-museum, a library of 30,000 volumes and rooms for exhibitions, conferences and shows that bring to life the legacy of the 2 authors on a daily basis. The apartments are as they were known, an ephemeris being even stopped at June 16, 1970, date of death of Elsa Triolet in the alleys of the park where she rests from now on with the great love of her life.

On the spot, one can thus plunge into their intimacy while admiring their art collection, partly made up of works offered by their famous friends, but also benefit from temporary exhibitions (painting, sculpture, photography), meetings or musical spectacles. In this "little corner of France" that they were particularly fond of, artistic creation continues to flourish, as Louis Aragon wished when he bequeathed it to France at his death in 1987.

Lovers of letters or amateurs of beautiful historical sites, you know what you have to do: schedule your visit in this inspiring place by inquiring here.



Valerie from Comme des Français
 

 

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Extend your journey in artistic lands with these articles:
- The address of artistic Paris in the 19th century
- The incredible home of Gustave Caillebotte
- Inspiring artist's studios