Rosso Fiorentino

Fontainebleau
Shark
Sickle
Prov. 6:4
"Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids."

Eagle's Pride

Garden view of Fontainebleau showing some of André Le Nôtre's work.

Chess: "Fontainebleau" "shark" "sickle"

Palace of Fontainebleau

Fontainebleau at Seine-et-Marne, France is 50km south of Paris.

Named after a fresh water spring that gave rise to the town. The royal castle existed as early as the twelfth century as a hunting lodge. Eight hundred years of architectural history can be read at Fontainebleau.

The chateau of Fontainebleau was Francois I's (1515-1547) preferred residence. Located not to far from the capital at the heart of a vast forest, it was the perfect place for the King to carry on his lifestyle of hunting and tournaments, interspersed with festivals, and formal balls.

After campaigning in Italy, Francois I brought home the Renaissance style he saw there which he combined with French Gothic to create a new style. Francois I reconstructed the chateau. He invited Italian artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Benvenuto Cellini to improve his palace. A bronze foundry was created in which sculptures ordered from the Florentine artist Benvenuto Cellini were cast, in particular of the statues of Diane, Venus and the Jupiter effigy. Italian painters Rosso Fiorentino and Primatice (1504-1570) came to France to direct the works and to decorate the rooms of the castle. The walls around the monumental staircase were decorated with mythological figures. The gallery of the Castle, Gallery of Francois I, decorated with frescos by Rosso Fiorentino portray the gods of Olympus with the features of the sovereign. The stuccos in low-relief and sculptures executed by Primatice and Rosso Fiorentino constitute true masterpieces. Hangings and tapestries and carpet designed by Primatice were also commissioned and installed in Fontainebleau. The artists gave birth to the School of Fontainebleau, that deeply influenced French painting in the following centuries. A kind of international mannerism was developed, which tried to synthesize the Italian, French and Nordic traditions.

Stucco in Galerie François I at Fontainebleau, created 1534-36 by Rosso Fiorentino.