Renaissance Architecture in France

Renaissance architecture in France represents the shift from castles built as strongholds to symbols of French culture, elegance and ostentation--a love of luxury and the spectacular. Renaissance architecture starts with the Fontainebleau of Francis I and Chambord and includes the beautiful and famous Chateaux of the Loire Valley and the Louvre. The chateaux were originally defensive, first against the Viking invaders in the 9th century, then the English in the Hundred Years' War which ended with Joan of Arc at Chinon in 1429 persuading the Dauphin (soon to be Charles VII) to give her an army to liberate Orléans. By the 16th century warfare had changed and the fortresses were turned into comfortable palaces. Under the influence of the Italians, the walls were opened up, light entered in, and landscape gardening was added with fountains, ornamental waterworks, hedges and flowerbeds. When Louis XIV moved his court to the Palace of Versailles the chateaux of the Loire Valley saw a wealth of art and design not seen before or since.

Renaissance 16th C General Reference

Francis I impacted architecture at Fontainebleau and Chambord--nobles followed with the chateaux of the Loire Valley: Azay le Rideau, Chenonceau, Blois.


The Louvre: An Architectural History	The Splendor of France : Great Chateaux, Mansions, and Country Houses	Art and Architecture in France, 1500-1700 (Yale University Press Pelican History of Art)	The Louvre: An Architectural History	Louvre : Portrait of a Museum	The Louvre/the Musee D'Orsay