372 



RENAISSANCE ARCHITECTURE IN FRANCE. 





356. NANCY: PLACE STANISLAS: WROUGHT-!RON GRILLES BY J. LAMOUR 



(c. 1755)- 



where. It is noteworthy, on the one hand, that some of its principal 

 promoters were of foreign origin, and on the other that some of the 

 wildest designs, though published in France, were for execution in foreign 

 lands Portugal, Germany, Poland and that several of the French 

 rococo architects had more extensive practices abroad than at home, 

 The two Frangois Cuvillies, for instance, father and son (1698-1768 

 and 1734-1805), spent most of their lives in various German states. 

 Finally, while actual buildings in definitely rococo style are common in 

 Italy, Germany, and Spain, not a single example exists in France. 



METAL-WORK. The curvilinear character of rococo design was 

 peculiarly suited to the technique of wrought metal-work, whether it 

 were the bronze and steel of door and window furniture, or the wrought 

 iron of grilles, balconies, stair and window rails, railings and gates in 

 courts and gardens (Fig. 356). The grilles of the Place Stanislas 

 and the staircase of the Hotel de Ville at Nancy, the railings of the 

 Hotels-Dieu of Troyes and Besan^on, and many church screens are 

 examples. 



ARCHITECTS OF THE ACADEMIC TRADITION. If such prominence 

 has been given to the peculiarities of decoration during the reign of 

 Louis XV., it is because they are its most characteristic feature. The 

 free tendency, which they represent, was never in full possession of the 

 field ; on the contrary, it is positively startling to observe that the lively 

 and fantastic decorations above described were in the majority of cases 



