220 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



July, 



RENAISSANCE DECORATIONS. 



^n Account of the Palace of Blois and Palace of Chamhord, France, 

 etpecially as to the Dtcoralious. By John Gregory Grace. Read 

 at the Royal Institute of British Architects, May 31. 



Having been much interested during an excursion made to Touraine, 

 in the autumn of last ye.ir, by visits to Blois, Cliamburd, Chenouceaux, 

 Amboise, and otlier monuments of the Renaissance style of architec- 

 ture, which abound in that district of France, I am induced to lay be- 

 fore you a description of what I saw at the two former of those places, 

 Blois and Chambord. 



The town of Blois, on the river Loire, is of verv considerable anti- 

 quity, and contains many objects highly interesting to the lover of 

 medisval art. It lies between two hills, on one of which is the cathe- 

 dral, on the other the palace or castle. 



The Castle of Blois is supposed to stand on the site of a Roman 

 camp. Mention is made of it in history about the ninth century. I 

 do not attempt to detail to you its various possessors, but merely ob- 

 serve, that in the year 1292 it first came to the De Chatillons, who are 

 supposed to have built parts of the castle. Froissart, who was chap- 

 lain to Guy de Chatillon, Count de Blois, says, that it was "grand and 

 strong, and one of the handsomest in France." By this Count Guy it 

 was sold, as indignantly mentioned by Froissart, to Louis d'Orleans, 

 brother to King Charles VI., who took possession in 1397. The Or- 

 leans retiined the property till their descendant became King of 

 France under the title of Louis XII.; it then remained crown property 

 till Louis XIII. bestowed it on his brother, Gaston d'Orleans, at whose 

 death it seems to have reverted to the crown, and at the Revolution to 

 have become public property. Viewed as you ascend from tlie town, 

 the castle appears rising from a mass of rock, on which is an imposing 

 base of solid masonry, giving the idea of a fortress of considerable 

 strength. Passing the west front of the building, you arrive at the 

 Place des Jesuites, when the eye is struck with the magnificent north 

 front of the quarter erected by Francis I. This front is entirely of 

 stone ; partly in two, and partly in ttiree stories. The windows are in 

 arched recesses, relieved with deep colouring, producing a rich and 

 powerful effect ; between the windows are pilasters, and where these 

 are double they are separated by niches and deep recesses. Pictur- 

 esque bays also project in various parts of this facade. A large cir- 

 cular tower marks the old tcur des oubliettes, or the donjon, considered 

 one of the oldest parts of the building. The roof is separated from 

 the entablature by a series of columns, thus forming an open gallery, 

 and from the pedestals of these columns project tremnidous gargels. 

 To my mind the effect of this front is truly be<iutifid, and a successful 

 example of the introduction of colour to architectural exterior. Part 

 ef the building was erected by the architect Mansard, by direction of 

 Gaston d'Orleans, in the reign of Louis XIII., in a style of art seen to 

 great disadvantage beside the beautiful front I liave attempted to 

 describe. 



Leaving the Place, we approach the east front of the exterior, con- 

 structed by Louis Xli. It is of brick, with ornamental stone dressings. 

 I regret not being able to show a view of this front, which is very pic- 

 turesque. I sketched one window, and also — what is the principal 

 object — the canopied recess that formerly contained the equestrian 

 statue of King Louis XII. Tins recess, surmounted by its canopy, is 

 of stone beautifully wrought. 1 have ventured to restore, in the draw- 

 ing, the colouring to the back-ground, powdered with god Jleurs-dt- 

 Ins, and to replace the statue as it existed previous to tne Revolution, 

 from a drawing in a inanusciipt by Felibieu. On the lascia under the 

 statue was formerly placed an iuscripiioii, in Lain, which may bi thus 

 traaslated ; — 



" Where by the grace of God I^ouis was born, 



Here also, uilh a noble band, he assumed the royal sceptre. 

 Happy Ule day which anuonnced the coming of so great a monarch. 

 France could not have tound a king Bnore worthy of her." 



That statue and the inscription are alike removed, ai d on the same 

 fascia is now written "Caserne d'infanterie." Tlie palace of Louis 

 XII. " the father of his people," is now a barrack. 



Under this canopy is an archway, forming tin- principal entrance to 

 the interior court of the palace. This court consists of an irregular 

 square, the four sides of winch are in as m uiy styles of architecture. 

 On the south, the Gothic of the fifteenth i:entury ; on the east, the 

 elaborately ornamented Gothic ofLousXU. ; on the north, the ele- 

 gant rtuaissunce of Francis I. ; and on the west, the Franco-Italian 

 style of Mansard: all these, full of irregularities, produce an enstinble 

 picturesque and charming to the eyes of all, and most interesting to 

 trhe lover of art. 



The south side of the building, looking towards the interior court, 

 was altered and partly rebuilt by the old Dukes of Orleans. It is of 



an unpretending style of domestic Gothic, the outer walls being of 

 brick, the windows and dressings of stone. In this quarter, in addi- 

 tion to various apartments, is the old chapel of St. Calais, which dates 

 from a much earlier period ; a view of it can be sfe.a in Androuet 

 Ducerceau. 



The east side of the court is the building erected by Louis XIL ; it 

 is of red brick, with window dressings, string courses, and enrichments 

 of stone richly carved ; above, rises a high roof f jrmf riy crested with 

 gilt metal work, from which project dormers in stone of beautiful tra- 

 cery, the whole resting in front on a colonnade, forming a sort of 

 cloister; the stone pillars being diapered with trellis work, in which 

 were formerly Jliurs-de-lis and ermines. This quarter contains the 

 apartmi'nts occupied by King Louis XII., which, though now under 

 one universal coat of whitewash and all in the occupation of soldiers, 

 were formerly fitted up with reg.d splendour. 



Here, in the year 1501, King Louis XII. received in this building 

 the Archduke Philip of Austria, and a chronicler of the period givjs 

 a most complete and interesting description of the palace as it then 

 appeared. The east front was then just finishrd, its network of stone 

 shown in all its brilliant freshness on its bright brick ground ; the 

 carvings were seen in all their perfection; a profusion oij!eurs-de-li» 

 and ermines, sculptured or painted, were spread over the building; 

 g!>ld, purple, and azure dazzled the eye in every diri'ction, even up to 

 tne roof, whose crestings and enrichments were also gilt; over every 

 door was seen the royal badge of the porcupine spreading out its 

 quills, and over the entrance archway was the splendid statue of the 

 king himself, young and handsome, noble and full of grace, as he then 

 was. 



Nor was the interior less magnificently decorated : rich tapeitries, 

 wrought in figures or flowers, or ornaments, furnished the walls; over 

 the floors were spread thick carpets. The chimney-pieces were bla- 

 zoned with heraldic shields, p.iintings, and devices; the joists of the 

 ceilings (for th^y were unplastered then) glittered with gilding and 

 elegant decoration; furniture, carved with the utmost delicacy of 

 finish ; beds, covered in the richest stuffs, embroidered in gold and in 

 silks of all colours — these ornimented the apartments. And as if to 

 recall the salutarv thought of death, in the midst of all that was g.iy 

 and joyful there was painted, as was usual then, the celebrated dance, 

 Macabre, on the walls under the piazza or colonnade. 



The king was proud of his palace, and right royally did he receive 

 his visitors. Onr chronicler, after describing with much interesting 

 det.iil the procession by torchlight, the reception of the archduke and 

 duchess, and the ceremonies of introduction to the king and queen, 

 continues his description of the apartments of the p.tlace. 



"The Grand Hall, by which the archduke and duchess entered, was 

 of great size, and hung with a tapestry of the Destruction of Troy; 

 and in the like manner also a chapel at the end of the hall. The room 

 where the king dined, and where the archduchess was, was hung with 

 a tapestry of a battle. Over the chimney was a grand mantle of cloth 

 of gold, craped very rich. The chamber of young ilad.ime Clau le 

 was next to the king's, and was hung with a tapestry of pastorals, all 

 small, with inscriptions, which was very fine. Afterwards came the 

 chamber of the queen, hung with a tapestry of strange beasts and 

 birds, with figures from foreign countries; and in siid room was a bed, 

 all dressed out with cloth of gold, and above the bed a canopy 

 of crimson damask. In the lodgings of the archduke there was a 

 g.illery, hung with tapi'stry of the deeds of the Trojans; after that a 

 gr<ind chamber, hung with tapestry of the actions of Alexander the 

 Great, and a mantle over the chimney, of cloth of gold, craped. From 

 cei ing of this room hung two chandeliers, marvellously large, of silver, 

 made crosswavs, for placing on each four flambeaux, which chande- 

 liers hung by great chains of silver. At the en 1 of this room was the 

 chamber of the archduchess, where the said lady an t gentleman slept, 

 which was hung with cloth of gold, wove with black and red. Here 

 were two beds, of which the one in which they slept was of stuff em- 

 broidered in gold, and curtains of the same, lined with white damask : 

 and above this bed was a canopy, the top of cloth of gold, the curtains 

 of t iffetty, yellow and red. 



"The other bed was furnished in the same manner, and on each were 

 coverlets of cloth of gold, and inside tliern sheets of linen from Hol- 

 land. All around the bi'ds, and on the buffet were carpets ol cluth of 

 gold. In the corner by the bed was a gilt chair, admirably wrought 

 by It.dians, of which the seat, &.;. was covered with cloth of gold, 

 fringed all round with fringes of gold aud sliver. Before the chininey 

 was another chair, also covered with cloth of gold, and there was 

 carpet of the same stuff under it ; a:so, there were many rich cushions 

 in the room to sit U|ion." 



And thus goes on our chronicler, describing every room : one hung 

 with crimson velvet embroidered with K's and A's, crowned; another 

 with crimson embroidered with cords and the ariui of Burgundy; 



