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Chaalis

The ruins of Cistercian abbey of Chaalis lie in romantic parkland in the heart of the forest of Ermenonville, near Senlis and Chantilly. The abbey found by King Louis VI was a major spiritual center in the Middles Ages. At the Renaissance, cardinal Ippolito d'Este brought Italians artists to Chaalis such as the architect Sébastiano Serlio and Francesco Primaticcio who painted the chapel Saint Mary with frescoes. In 1737, Jean Aubert was commissioned to rebuild the abbey. After Revolution, the owners transformed the main building into a chateau. In 1902, Nélie Jacquemart-André purchased the chateau as a home for her fabulous collection. At her death in 1912, she bequeathed Chaalis to the Institut de France, which moved the Rousseau collection there.