RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE IN FRANCE. 



(1550) to span the Rue de Jerusalem, and thus connect two portions of 

 the Cour des Comptes, is another probable work of Bullant's. 



PRIMATICCIO : MONCEAUX. While the French masters were thus 

 writing a striking chapter in their country's architecture, the Italian 

 school was not only occupied with internal decoration. As soon as 

 Catharine de' Medici became queen, she used the privileges which the 

 dignity brought with it to build a palace of her own, the great chateau 

 of Monceaux-en-Brie (Fig. 146). Both the date and the authorship of 

 this mansion are of importance in the history of French architecture. 

 The building, now in ruins, was formerly supposed to have been built 

 anew by a French architect for Henry IV. There is now, however, 

 strong evidence to show, first that the chateau, begun for Catharine in 

 1547 and occupied by the Court at least as early as 1555, was merely 

 restored by Henry IV.'s orders for his mistres e , Gabrielle d'Estrees, 

 and afterwards enlarged by Maria de' Medici ; and secondly, that 

 Primaticcio was the architect. The documentary evidence for this 

 latter point is indeed not absolutely conclusive, but since it can be 

 proved that neither Serlio nor any of the five great Frenchmen can 



have designed Mon- 

 ceaux, and since it 

 is inconceivable that 

 such a design should 

 have emanated from 

 some obscure builder 

 of the calibre, say, 

 of a Le Breton, it is 

 difficult to see what 

 architect but Prima- 

 ticcio was to be 

 found in France 

 capable of producing 

 it. Several reasons 

 combined to com- 

 mend him to Catha- 

 rine. Not only had 

 he given proof of his 

 architectural capacity 

 at Ancy-le-Franc, 

 but as the favourite 

 of the late king, with 

 whom she was always 

 on excellent terms, 



145. CHATEAU OF ECOUEN : STAIRCASE BAY ox sne must nave known 

 NORTH FRONT, BY J. BULLANT. him well. In any 



