122 RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE IN FRANCE. 



123. CHATEAU OK ANCY-LE-FRANC. 



From a Drawing by Du Cerceau. 



that no architectural work fell to his share. There is a possible 

 exception in the Grotto of the Pines (H on plan, Fig. 61) at the 

 south-west angle of the forecourt, consisting of a vaulted loggia decorated 

 internally with painting and shell work, and faced with bold rustication 

 on which the forms of four Atlantes emerge dimly from the rough hewn 

 masonry (Fig. 122). Authorities differ as to its date, some placing it 

 about 1531, in which case it must be assigned to Rosso or Primaticcio, 

 others some ten years later, which would make it possible for Serlio to 

 have designed it, and it certainly fits well with his manner. 



ANCY-LE-FRANC. The influence of the Italian colony was not con- 

 fined within the precincts of the Palace of Fontainebleau. Serlio found 

 a private client in the Cardinal Ippolito of Este for whom he built a 

 magnificent hotel at Fontainebleau (1544-6), of which the rusticated 

 gateway is the only relic. The similar gateway of the Hotel de 

 Montpensier near by, the rest of which has likewise disappeared, may 

 also well be by him. As for Primaticcio there is no valid reason for 

 disputing the traditional view that he was the architect of Ancy-le-Franc, 

 begun perhaps as early as 1538 and finished by 1546. This chateau 

 (Fig. 123) is one of the most interesting achievements of the period: 

 not only is it one of the earliest examples of the matured Renaissance 

 in France, but it shows a very complete, if cold, fusion of French and 

 Italian ideas. The detail (Fig. 124) and composition of the elevations 

 show a pure classical treatment and the plan an absolute symmetry 

 (Fig. 125), while the court, enclosed on all sides by lofty buildings of 

 equal height, and surrounded by open arcades, makes perhaps a nearer 

 approach to an Italian "cortile" than any other in France. At the 

 same time the French tradition is retained in the pavilions at the angles 

 and the steep roofs. 



