120 RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE IN FRANCE. 



when he died of poison, self-administered, it is said, on the discovery 

 that he had wrongly accused his friend Pellegrino of embezzlement. 



PRIMATICCIO. Francis I., who wished to rival the most splendid 

 palaces of Italy, and could thus find work for more than one first-rate 

 artist, requested the Duke of Mantua to spare him Giulio Romano. 

 But the latter refused to leave Italy, and sent his principal assistant at 

 the Palazzo del Te in his stead. Francesco Primaticcio (born 1504 

 at Bologna, died 1570), on reaching Fontainebleau (1531), entered 

 on a career of unbroken success at the French Court. He was known 

 in France as "le Primatice," or " Primadicy," also " le Sieur de 

 Boulongne" from his birthplace, and " 1'Abbe de St Martin" from one 

 of the benefices later bestowed on him. His salary as "conductor or 

 apportioner of works of stucco and painting" was at first only 25 1. a 

 month, but was increased to 600 1. a year when he was appointed 

 "Valet de Chambre " (1539). Of his earlier works little remains 

 except the decoration of the archway in the Pavilion de la Porte Doree 

 ( I 535)> an< 3 perhaps the chimney-piece of the so-called Salon de 

 Francois I. (really Queen Eleanor's room). Much more important 

 was the decoration of the Great Gallery, or Gallery of Ulysses, from its 

 containing 161 subjects from the "Odyssey," begun about this period 

 with a large staff of assistants. The gallery, which was 500 feet long, 

 occupied the upper storey in the south wing of the then new forecourt, 

 destroyed in 1738 (c on plan, Fig. 261 ; cf. also Fig. 62). The decoration 

 was not finished till 1570. In 1540 Primaticcio was sent to Rome to 

 make drawings of ancient monuments and collect works of art, but 

 was hurriedly recalled on Rosso's death to take sole charge of the 

 works at the palace. He returned, accompanied by Vignola, with 133 

 chests of casts and antiques. Vignola (born 1507, died 1573) only 

 remained a few months, and seems to have been solely occupied with 

 casting bronzes. 



Among Primaticcio's further works for Francis are the decoration of 

 the chamber of the Duchess of Etampes (1543), now forming the upper 

 portion of the great staircase, and of the vestibule in the Pavilion de la 

 Porte Doree (1544) and the design for the destroyed fountain-pavilion 

 in the Fountain Court. The works of Rosso and Primaticcio are barely 

 distinguishable as regards architectural style. 



CELLINI, SERLIO. The year 1541 was marked by the arrival of two 

 other distinguished Italians. The first was Benvenuto Cellini (born 

 1500, died 1571) who was engaged by Francis I. as a goldsmith at 

 700 1. a year, with a dwelling in Paris. He then took up sculpture 

 and made the celebrated bronze nymph of Fontainebleau, soon trans- 

 ferred to Anet and now in the Louvre, but having fallen foul of 

 Primaticcio and the Duchess of Etampes, he returned to Italy in 1542. 

 The second was Sebastiano ("Bastiannet") Serlio (born 1475 at Bologna, 



