140 



RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE IN FRANCE. 



SECOND SUB-PERIODARCHITECTS AND BUILDINGS. 



LESCOT AND THE LOUVRE. The advance in the importance of 

 French architects which was so marked a feature of Henry II. 's reign 

 had already received royal recognition in one of Francis' last acts, 

 which was to appoint a Frenchman to rebuild the Louvre, the seat par 

 excellence of the French Monarchy. The gloom, inconvenience, and 

 ill-repair of this old fortress had become more and more evident as the 

 reign advanced. Its donjon, which darkened the court, was thrown down 

 (1527), and other works undertaken in view of a visit of the Emperor 

 Charles V. (1539) had only proved its inadaptability to the requirements 

 of a modern Court. Its complete rebuilding was determined upon, and 

 a competition is said to have been held (1543) in which, with Serlio's 



approbation, Lescot's design was 

 preferred to his own. Be this 

 as it may, the west wing was 

 demolished and rebuilding com- 

 menced (1546). The complete 

 control, both of the design and 

 administration, given to Lescot 

 at the Louvre and retained by 

 him till his death (1546-78) is 

 unparalleled up to that time, at 

 any rate in the case of an archi- 

 tect employed by the crown. 

 Little had been accomplished at 

 the time of Francis I.'s death 

 (March 1547), thus the finest 

 flower of the French Renais- 

 sance came into bloom under his 

 successor. Lescot, who was a 



persona gratissima with Henry II., was maintained in authority, 

 receiving from 1555 onwards a salary of 1,200 1. a year with other emolu- 

 ments, and the work was vigorously prosecuted during his reign. The 

 new palace was to occupy the same site as the old, though slightly 

 prolonged to the east, and formed an almost square court about 175 

 feet wide with the principal block to the west and the entrance to the 

 east (see Plans, Figs. 135 and 158). The traditions of the fortress were 

 maintained by the retention of the moat and the severity of the external 

 elevations (Fig. 286), contrasting with the richness of those of the court. 

 The three wings were to have two storeys and an attic, and the angle 

 pavilions an additional storey. Lescot's drawings being lost, his treat- 

 ment of the eastern side is uncertain, but a design by du Cerceau 

 makes it probable that it was to consist of a screen and gatehouse. 



135. PLAN OF LOUVRE, AS DESIGNED r,v 

 P. LESCOT (with conjectural completion}. 



