Not surprisingly, the Duchesse d’Etampes’ bedroom at Fontainebleau was situated close to François’.
It was the custom for the King to visit the mistress in her bed chamber, never the other way around. The room was decorated by Primaticcio with large statues and frescoes representing the love stories of Alexander the Great.
Two hundred years later, King Louis XV transformed the bedroom into a staircase. However, a large section of the original décor remains, as incongruous as that may seem to visitors today.
