142 RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE IN FRANCE. 



between admitting this and making Lescot, as has been done, into a 

 mere figure-head, a fine gentleman fit only for the financial super- 

 intendence of the work. Such an extreme view is contrary to known 

 facts as to Lescot's career. He had received a thorough professional 

 training on the theoretical side ; he and de I'Orme are coupled together 

 by Goujon as the best known architects of the day ; the rood screen at 

 St Germain 1'Auxerrois, erected under him, was begun three years before 

 Goujon was employed on it, and the works at the Louvre continued 

 long after Goujon's departure ; and his advice was sought on practical 

 points in connection with the building of the Pont Neuf. There is 

 thus no reason for denying him the glory of being the architect of 

 the Louvre in the full sense of the word, although Goujon may have 

 given him valuable assistance there. 



Another contemporary monument is generally reckoned as a joint 

 work of Lescot and Goujon. This is the " Fontaine des Innocents " 

 or "des Nymphes" in Paris (1547-9), originally a loggia at the angle of 

 a house with two bays at the side and one at the end, the water issuing 

 from spouts at the base a little masterpiece, quite Greek in its per- 

 fection of design and delicacy of execution. 



DE L'ORME. Outside the Louvre the death of Francis I. brought 

 about a revolution in the personnel of the royal building works, 

 which turned on the whole to the advantage of the French architects. 

 Philibert de I'Orme was commissioned to design the late king's tomb, 

 and a year later (1548) he was appointed architect in general to all the 

 royal buildings except the Louvre and the Queen's chateau of Monceaux, 

 with instructions to report "how the late king had been served in his 

 buildings." The post of the superintendent of the royal buildings had 

 hitherto generally been held by non-professional persons, a practice 

 which had led to grave abuses, if de I'Orme is to be believed when he 

 claims to have discovered, among other things, that Le Breton had 

 received payments in respect of works at Fontainebleau largely in excess 

 of what had been executed. The technical and administrative depart- 

 ments were now subjected to the same control, everything connected 

 with the royal works down to the minutest details coming within the 

 superintendent's purview. Jean Bullant was given a controllership in 

 the royal buildings, a post principally of financial supervision. Serlio 

 was dismissed and retired to Lyons. Primaticcio's services as a 

 decorator could not be replaced by those of any Frenchman, and he 

 was retained at Fontainebleau in that capacity alone. 



DE L'ORME AND FONTAINEBLEAU. The reign of Henry II. was the 

 golden age of de 1'Orme's career, and the list of works carried out under 

 him at this time both for the crown and for private clients is a formid- 

 able one. Among his works at Fontainebleau were an open horse-shoe 

 stair (S on plan, fig. 61) carried on ramping vaults, affording access 





