Maison du Grand Veneur

This 16th-century house in the heart of Vieux Laval is remarkable for its glazed terracotta figurines of wild animals.

The Maison du Grand Veneur was built around 1554 by a wealthy Laval merchant, Jacques Marest. Divided in 1699 - the left-hand side has lost much of its original decoration - it takes its name from a series of glazed terracotta figurines representing wild animals such as wild boars. The popularity of Renaissance art was reflected in large buildings such as churches and castles, but also in private homes, as seen here. The surviving window bay is decorated with Corinthian columns supporting entablatures with palmettes and foliage, from which busts and putti stand out. Already classical, the architectural decoration is not completely free of the ornamental profusion of the early Renaissance.