France

In France the word hotel was used for a palatial urban residence, whereas a palace outside the city was called a chateau (both singular and plural pronounced “sha-toe” with emphasis on the second syllable). These lavish structures gave Renaissance architects an opportunity to experiment with different styles and display their virtuosity. The best examples of chateaux were commissioned by the royal family and their immediate circle. Because many of the royal archives were destroyed during the French Revolution, we unfortunately do not have information about the architects commissioned to create most of the buildings.

The Louvre in Paris (now the French national museum) was begun as a renovation of a 13th-century medieval fortress, commissioned by King Francis I (1494-1547). The castle keep, with its dungeon in the cellar, was demolished to open up a courtyard. Although only a small portion of the Louvre as conceived by its architect Pierre Lescot (1510/15-78) was constructed before the close of the 16th century, his Italianate square courtyard greatly influenced other French Renaissance architecture. Lescot’s facade on the west wing overlooking the square court was completed in 1546. Created in collaboration with the sculptor Jean Goujon (c. 1510-c. 65), the facade is a masterpiece of classical style, with fluted columns and

4.5 Chateau of Langeais, France, constructed during the latter 15th century. Although the entrance was designed as a medieval fortress, this fagade facing the garden is in a transitional early Renaissance style. Note the rows of mullioned windows. (Courtesy of Sandra Sider)

Handbook to Life in Renaissance Europe

Niches for statuary between the columns. In addition, the spaces between windows on the shorter third story are filled with sculpture in relief, like that found on ancient pediments. The result is a lively yet harmonious whole.

In 1528 Francis I commissioned the French architect Gilles de Breton (c. 1500-c. 1552) to begin renovations of the small medieval fortress of Fontainebleau, situated in a forest approximately 40 miles southeast of Paris. We also know that Serlio was working at Fontainebleau, called there by the king to work on the renovations. The Gallery of Francis I, whose Italianate interior decoration is discussed in chapter 3, was a model of Renaissance style. Fontainebleau was famous at the time for its gardens, including a grotto like those that were popular in Italy. One of the earliest garden grottoes in France, it still exists today.

Renovations at the French royal residence of Blois, in the Loire Valley, commenced in 1514. The Italianate wing added by Francis I has Bramantesque elements of rectangular windows with mullions, flanked by pilasters. The building features a unique external spiral staircase dominating the courtyard. Shaped as a hexagon, part of it ingeniously inside the building and the rest outside, the staircase is capped by a handsome classical balustrade. Defined by the staircase, the facade has the presence of a monumental Roman structure, even in the context of medieval elements in other parts of the chateau’s roofline and facade.

Chambord, also in the Loire Valley close to Blois, was renovated for the king from 1519. This splendidly grandiose edifice, a converted hunting lodge, was not completed until 1550. The main, central building is designed with a Greek cross floor plan and four circular structures at each corner. Because such a balanced floor plan was already popular in Italian villas and palazzos, scholars have proposed that the architect was Italian. The most striking feature of Chambord is its double spiral staircase at the center, leading up to the top of the third story. Italianate in its perfect symmetry, the staircase permits those using it to see each other but not to cross over from one staircase to another.

Anet, approximately 50 miles west of Paris, was constructed between 1546 and 1552. This creation was the chateau of Diane de Poitiers (1499-1566), a gift from her lover, Henry II, king of France (1519-59). The architect was Philibert Delorme, whose grand scheme unified the chateau and gardens in a single design. Although such planning was usual for Italian architects, Anet was the first example in France of this Italianate scheme. Only sections of the structure are known to us today, but Delorme’s application of the architectural orders, triumphal arch, and heavy classical moldings indicate that the original chateau was an archetype of French classicism.