The Poet's Gloriette Pavilion

Rameau bought Pourtaou on August 10, 1899. At that point, the property comprised more than 65 hectares and was sold to him for the sum of 78,000 Francs. This acquisition and the work that he consequently did to it constituted the pinnacle of the poet's Parisian success and cemented his high social standing.

During the first half of the 20th century, Pourtaou was transformed from a farmhouse to a residence in the style of an Italian villa.
Numerous annotated drawings and a large number of notes and letters provide valuable information about the progress of Jean Rameau's creative project. He left no detail to chance.
He created the numerous stone sculptures that adorn the façades of the house, as shown here on the south side.

Located on the first floor, the library is the centerpiece of Jean Rameau's residence.
Rather than engaging an architect, he designed the space himself. Painted portraits of Rameau and his son, set in the overmantels of the doors, and sculpted portraits of Chateaubriand and Lamartine, form part of a decor inspired by Ancient Greece.

The triangular pediment above the entrance of the library is adorned with low-relief sculpture work, entirely created by Rameau.

An allegory of the Greek goddess of Fame dominates a crowd scene. With outstretched arms, she carries items that represent the search for glory: a painter's palette, books, a magician's hat, an actor's mask, a footballer's foot and a football.

The figure representing Fame, flanked by sculptures of pigs, with birds of ill omen in the background, depicts the poet's bitterness following his failure in Paris. This is reflected in a poem he wrote in 1937; it was originally written in French but translates into English as follows:

"Yes I have suffered. All the sorrow, all the reverie,
I wept all the tears of the world.
Who, then, on this ancient globe of tragic wanderings
Has known more distress?
Mary, at Golgotha, lost only Jesus.
I lost my son, and my father, and mother,
And wives and sisters; Glory too, I lost
Because I wanted, spurring on my fruitless dreams,
To go higher than Homer.
And I fell into the dark well of cursed poets.
I took all the blows, suffered all the torments,
Found all the betrayals in my path.
If I was able to taste sweet bread when young
Old, from the bottom of the chalices,
I drink only venom, tears, and poison…"

The so-called Emperors' Door is a good example of Rameau's ambitions and what he admired.
Located on the first floor, it provides access to the library.
It is called the Emperor's Door because of the emblems inlaid into the buttresses that frame the door, representing Roman emperors in profile.
Homer and Victor Hugo dominate the scene, on a lintel interspersed with imperial bees.

The door itself is adorned with a portrayal of Napoleon I framed within a lyre, while the central designs represent Caligula and Octavian.
The lower part of the door simply displays Jean Rameau's monogram.

It is in the heart of this park, at the top of the belvedere, opening onto a breathtaking panorama of the Pyrenees, that Rameau had his pavilion erected. He asked to be buried upright within the pavilion in order to admire his beloved landscape for all eternity.

Having drawn up plans for several projects, Rameau finally settled on a circular belvedere with three levels, inspired mainly by the Tempietto de Bramante in Rome.

The three oculi at the base originally housed busts of Rameau, his wife, and his son.

Above, the circular gallery is interspersed with fourteen columns, their sculpted chapters depicting the Seven Sages and Seven Fools of Ancient Greece. The structure is dominated by a terrace and a dome topped with a lyre bearing the initials JR.