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FRENCH ART & ARCHITECTURE
"A work of art is above all an adventure of the mind."
Eugène Ionesco (b. 1912), Rumanian-born French playwright.
Renaissance began to influence French art in the last decade of the
15th century, when Charles VIII returned (1496) from his conquest of
Naples accompanied by several Italian artists. Italian styles first
appeared in the chateaux of the Loire Valley and became predominant
during the reign (1515-47) of Francis I. Initially, however, Italian
decorative elements were superimposed on Gothic principles. The
earliest example is the Chateau d'Amboise (c.1495), where Leonardo da
Vinci spent his last years. The Chateau de Chambord (1519-36) is a
more elaborate marriage of Gothic structure and Italianate ornament.
This style progressed in the work of Italian architects such as
Sebastiano Serlio, who was engaged after 1540 in much of the work at
the Chateau de Fontainebleau.
grand interior galleries and ballrooms were decorated by Italian
artists who formed the first school of Fontainebleau. The principal
figures of this school were Rosso Fiorentino, Francesco Primaticcio,
and Niccolo dell' Abbate (1512-c.1570). The art of engraving was also
developed in France by foreign artists who helped disseminate the
The climate of
active royal and aristocratic patronage encouraged many talented
artists and architects, including Jacques Androuet du Cerceau
(c.1520-1585), Philibert Delorme, (c.1510-70), Giacomo Vignola, and
Pierre Lescot. One of the finest surviving monuments of the French
Renaissance is the southwest interior facade of the Cour Carree of
the Palais du Louvre in Paris, designed by Lescot and covered with
exterior carvings by Jean Goujon. Strong regional schools appeared in
Lorraine as the arts continued to flourish under the reigns of Henry
II and Henry III.
"Art is not a study of positive reality,
it is the seeking for ideal truth."
George Sand (1804-76), French
The reign of Henry
IV (1589-1610) was a period of competent and enlightened government.
The king's marriage to Marie de Medici of the ruling house of
Florence helped to ensure high esteem for Italian artistic
accomplishments. The Place des Vosges (1605), then called the Place
Royale, and the Place Dauphine (1607) were planned and built. In
Paris a second generation of artists--called the second school of
Fontainebleau--were trained or inspired by Italian painters to
perpetuate the Italianate tradition under the patronage of Henry IV.
In the second and
third quarters of the century, during the ministries of Cardinal
Richelieu to Louis XIII and of Cardinal Mazarin to the child-king
Louis XIV, France became a great European power. These sage men
required prestigious dwellings suited to their station. The
architects Jacques Lemercier--builder of Richelieu's Palais Cardinal
(begun 1633), now site of the the Palais Royale, and of the Church of
the Sorbonne (begun 1635)--Francois Mansart and Louis Le Vau adapted
the Italian baroque style to French needs.
During the personal
reign of Louis XIV (1661-1715) the arts served the state under the
direction of the powerful minister of commerce and of royal works,
Jean Baptiste Colbert. The Louvre was enlarged, and the magnificent
palace of Versailles (c.1669-90) was built as a fitting residence for
the powerful king of France. The leading architect of the latter half
of the 17th century was Jules Hardouin-Mansart, who designed parts of
the palace of Versailles, the Orangerie, and numerous squares and
public buildings in Paris.
Italy played a
fundamental role in the redirection of French painting in the 17th
century. Some French artists, notably Nicolas Poussin and Claude
Lorrain, created new modes of painting while living in Italy. Other
artists, such as Simon Vouet, fostered a native French baroque style.
Colbert founded the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture (1663) to
protect this group of artists and enlist their services for the
state. Charles Le Brun was named first painter to the king and guided
the academy. Under his leadership, artists celebrated the triumphs of
the Sun King. Their work included mural paintings, altarpieces,
tapestry cartoons, and other large-scale narrative works associating
Louis XIV and his reign with great men and events from classical
literature. The same was true in sculpture--monumental figures of the
king or large-scale structures were needed to ornament public squares
and formal gardens.
Italy was the great school of both classical and Renaissance art,
Colbert founded the French Academy in Rome in 1666, to which gifted
French artists and architects were sent at the expense of the crown.
The "Joconde" database is a catalogue of drawings, stamps, paintings, sculptures,
photography and objects of art conserved in more than 60 museums throughout France. It
contains details on more than 130,000 works, dating from the 7th century to the present,
representing over 10,000 artists.
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