FRANÇOIS I
“Prince of the Renaissance”
When François’ was born in 1494, he was the second cousin of the second cousin to the French King — a long way from the throne. However, against the odds, at the age of 20 François became King of France.
Most of the millions of visitors to France have no idea the vital role he played in so many sites they visit.
François brought the Italian Renaissance to France, assembling a magnificent collection of Italian paintings and statues. His favourite residence was the Chateau of Fontainebleau. Artists such as Primaticcio, Fiorentino and Cellini worked there and sculptures and paintings by artists such as Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci were displayed (the Mona Lisa was originally in Francois’ bath apartment there).
François commenced rebuilding the medieval chateau of Fontainebleau in the new Renaissance style. He replaced the medieval entry with a new “Golden Gate”. To see this entry walk through the Fountain courtyard which overlooks the lake. Go through the passageway towards the Grand Parterre. You will find the Golden Gate and the road leading up to François’ bust features on the courtyard side.
Most of the castle was in ruins. François kept the original keep and set up his apartment on
the first floor. It remained the King’s apartment for the next 50 years until one of François’
grandsons decided to introduce a new strict etiquette to the court which required a different
layout for the apartments of the King and Queen. The area became an anti-chamber, a
waiting room for visitors to the royal apartments. The marble statue is Henri IV.
Between his bedchamber and the convent chapel François built a magnificent gallery.
François brought the painter Rosso Fiorentino from Italy to decorate the gallery. It was not open to the public. François carried the key to it around his neck and it was a real privilege to be able to visit it with him.
He built a magnificent new hunting chateau at Chambord where he set up the arrangement of an “apartment”, a series of rooms, the “chambre” or bedroom being the main feature. This was to become the standard layout in royal residences.
Chambord was not designed to be a permanent residence and François stayed there with the court for a total of seven weeks during his reign. The furniture was transported for each visit and the chateau remained unfurnished in between.
Celebrated interior designer Jacques Garcia drew up the plans for a new presentation of François’ chateau to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci in 2019. The original “lit à la francaise”, a style from a later period, has been replaced by a more accurate reconstruction. The room also contains a camp bed, most likely used for a manservant during the night as well as a bed used for travelling.
The King and his court were always on the road, so beds were transported from place to place. The travel bed in François’ bed chamber at Chambord did not belong to him but is a rare original from the same period.
In Paris, François started the rebuilding of the Louvre as the main royal residence as well as building a new Hôtel de Ville.*
*Hotel de Ville – the original town hall built by François was the work of Italian architect Domenico de Cortona, known as Boccador. He was also associated with the design of Chambord. The current Hotel de Ville in Paris was built in the same style as François’ original.
There is another “François I bed” displayed in the Auvergne region. It is in the chateau de Villeneuve-Lembron built by Rigaud d’Aureille (whose original bed is displayed in Paris at Les
Arts Decoratifs).
Rigaud’s son Maximilien inherited the château.
On July 15, 1533 François I stayed there on his way to Marseille for the wedding of his son Henri to Catherine de Medici. Visitors to the Château de Villeneuve-Lembron can visit the “François I bedroom” which has been set up to commemorate this event.
François’ interest in architecture resulted in him building or reconstructing seven chateaux in fifteen years. Given this lasting legacy and his contribution to the arts, it is interesting that, like his contemporary Henry VIII of England, most biographers seem to concentrate on François’ love life.
Before we check out the wives and mistresses, we start with arguably the most important women in his life, his mother Louise and sister Marguerite –
