IR47.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



221 



another with brocade, yellow and grey, with S's in black velvet; 

 another with crimson satin embroidtred in flames of fire, and at the 

 argles and in the centre were lions in wreaths, entirely covered in 

 pearls, and which were migthy rich to see, and cost 40 to 50,000 

 ducats. And the chronicler further takes care to remark, that all the 

 said stulTs and tapestries were as fresli and good as new, and that the 

 floors of all the rooms were covered with carpets of velvet, so that 

 nothing of the floors was seen. 



Thus was furnished this palace of a king of France at a time con- 

 temporary with the reign of our Henry VII. 



At eacii extremity of the front of Louis XII., and forming part of 

 the work erected by him, is a square tower of picturesque appearance. 

 It contains a staircase of considerable elegance. Tlie stairs radiate 

 round a centre shaft, which is formed of clustering columns termin iting 

 in a crown at top, from which rises a vaulted ceiling. Though the 

 construction and many of the details are Gothic, yet some of the orna- 

 ments partake of an Italian character. 



From this staircase we pass to the part of the palace the most his- 

 torically famous, the ancient Salle des Elats, a large building, of some- 

 what plain appearance, dating about the thirteenih century, although 

 several alterations of a later period have been made to its windows, 

 &c. In this spacious liall the three estates of the kingdom used for- 

 merly to assemble. It lias a rude and bare appearance ; down the 

 centre range a series of pointed arches, resting on columns supporting 

 the roof, and dividing the ceiling into two parts, which are arched, 

 and simply covered with flat boards. In tlie reign of Henry III. the 

 states were summoned to meet here ; and it was during their assem- 

 bly that the powerful Due de Guise was murdered in one of the 

 apartments of the palace. The hall was then richly ornamented ; the 

 walls were hung with splendid tapestry, worked in figures, relieved 

 with gold ; the columns covered with purple velvet, powdered with 

 go\dJ!eurs-de-lis ; and the ceiling was also covered with tapestry. A 

 platform was raised nearly in the centre, behind one of the arches, on 

 which was placed the throne of the king, all being covered with purple 

 velvet, powdered with go\iiJ!eurs-dt'lis, and on this, and on the steps 

 to it, were seats for the blood royal; behind stood the archers of the 

 guard ; in front, and on either side, were the three estates, and in 

 galleries at the end were seats for ladies ; — the common people were 

 also allowed to enter within certain barriers. The king descended 

 from his apartments into the hall by wooden stairs at the end, but 

 which stairs are now removed. 



Adjoining the Aucifot Salle dts Elats, and forming the northern side 

 of the quadrangle, is that quarter of the palace erected by Francis I. 

 This front, by the elegance of its proportions, the beauty of its de- 

 tails, and the grandeur of its eft'ect, is by far the most imposing fea- 

 ture in the whole building, and a most tasteful specimen of the Re- 

 naissance stvle of architecture. The exterior front, towards the 

 Place dts Jtgiiiks, I have already described ; this, towards the in- 

 terior court, is altogether difterent : here we have more elaborate de- 

 coration and greater delicacy of finish. It is entirely of stone, and 

 composed of two principal floors, decorated by pilasters and panel- 

 lings; round the windows are interlaced enrichments, and the reveals 

 are panelled, and were, I suspect, formerly relieved with colour. 

 Above is an entablature of considerable richness and beautiful effect. 

 Its modillions project to some extent, and above them is a kind of 

 machicolation, containing shell enrichments in its recesses; over this 

 rises an ornamental balustrade, formed of the letters F and C, for the 

 initials of Francis I. and Claude of France. From the roof project 

 durmer windows of graceful outline ; and even the chimney-shafts are 

 enriched, and by no means unworthy of remark. The rool itself was 

 formerly crested with an ornament compnsed of _/?curs-rfe-/is, gilded. 

 Below was formerly a colonnade supporting a gallery, as given by 

 Docerceau, which, although now removed, is about to be restored. 

 But the principal object in this front, and which givts a charm to the 

 whole, is the giand open staircase, situate about the centre of the 

 facade, and projecting in front of it. This has lately been resturi'd, 

 ami now shines forth in the full beauty of all its delicate and tasteful 

 workmanship. The balustrades are formed of open carvings of foliage 

 and the crawling salamander. Niches of most elaborate detail and 

 elegant arabesques adorn the shafts of th-" pilasters; twining foliage 

 is sculptured round the mouldings of the wiuduw openings; — in every 

 part does ornament seem to liuthe this magnificent work of art like 

 the delicate foliage and clinging tendrils of the ivy clustering round 

 a tree, yet nowhere does it superabound or appear misplaced. 



The interior of liiis staircase is also ornamented with carved niches 

 and enrichments ; mounting its steps, we enter the suite of apartments 

 on the first floor, being those formerly occupied by Queen Calheriae 

 de Medici. The first is called the Salle dts Gardes, or guard cham- 

 ber, a room of considerable sizp. The chimney-piece of siune, though 

 massive in coBStruclion, is to be noticed fur the elegance and richness 



of its ornaments; the stair door-frame is decorated, and has over it 

 the salamander in flames, the badge of Francis I. The ceiling here, 

 as in most of the rooms in this building, is formed of beams, which 

 are, in fact, the floor- joists of the room above; the effect of these, 

 when painted, is by no means unpleasing. I made a sketch of the de- 

 corations lalelv executed on this ceiling, in which the initials, arms, 

 and badges are mingled, with forcible contrasts of colour; whether 

 the precise pattern is a restoration or not, I had no means ol discover- 

 ing; but there are many old examples of this mode of ornunenting 

 the ceilings still remaining at Chenouceaux, Fontainbleau, and other 

 places; and in Venice, almost all the older palaces have the ceilings 

 decorated in this way, with arabesques and inlaid ornaments of great 

 variety and beauty. The walls of this chamber are nuw bare, so thtv 

 are all, in fact; nothing now remains of the splendour that dazzled 

 the eyes, or the works of art that delighted the mind, during the time 

 of Francis I. We pass through a multitude of rooms, but all are de- 

 solate alike — each has suffered the distressing calamity of whitewash 

 — not a vestige of furniture, not a hanging remains. The chimney- 

 pieces alone attest the magnificence and beauty with which the re- 

 mainder must have been ornamented. I anticipated the pleasure of 

 sketching these, which possess a rich fund of renaissance art, but a 

 custodian abruptly prohibited my making further drawings ; and I was 

 thus prevented taking many details in the interior thai might have 

 proved interesting. '1 he state-rooms seem to have been situated on 

 this court-side of the building; and on the other, looking towards the 

 Place des Jesuiles, were the large bed-room and private apartments of 

 the queen; amongst others, her cabinet. In this the walls are covered 

 by carved panelling, the details of which are executed with much 

 spirit and taste. 



Again mounting the open staircase, we reach the floor above, the 

 disposition of the rooms on which is exactly similar to the one we 

 have left. These were the apartments occupied by King Henry III. 

 You enter first the Salle dts Gardts, which served also as a council 

 chamber; from hence you pass into the king's bed-room, a very spa- 

 cious apartment looking towards the Place des Jesuiles. Here oc- 

 curred the tragedy of the murder of the celebrated Due de Guise. 



The cabinet of the king is next this chamber; it is a small room, 

 which still retains some traces of decorations. On the ceiling are to 

 be distinguished slight remains of colouring, and arabesque oruameut 

 in fresco may still be seen on the linings of the window recess. On 

 the left of the bed-chamber you enter a sort of passage which leads 

 to the old Tour des Oubliettes or Donjon, of which so many horrors 

 are retailed; at present nothing but bare walls of considerable thick- 

 ness are to be seen. 



Above this second floor are a range of rooms in the roof, but these 

 contain no ornamental or interesting feature of any kind except that a 

 most extensive view of the adjoining country is to be obtained from 

 the open gallery outside them. 



Of the west front I have little to say ; it is that erected by Gaston 

 d'Orleans, in the time of Louis XHI. As a structure away from these 

 middle age remains, it would probably be admired, but here it is 

 thoroughly out of place. It stands on the site of a part of the ancient 

 chateau erected by the old Dukes of Orleans. 



Before leaving the Chateau de Blois, I must not omit to call atten- 

 tion to an old tower, used subsequently as an observatory and astrolo- 

 gical study by Catherine de Medici. 



THE PALACE OF CHAMBORD. 



Crossing the Loire, you pass along a sandy road through a district 

 of vineyards, till you enter a forest, in the midst of which, and at about 

 four leagues from Blois, lies the celebrated Chdleau de C/fiiubord. 



It is difficult to describe the effect it first creates upon the mind — it 

 looks so perfectly unlike any thing one has ever seen before. Below 

 — its massive round towers and perfect simplicity give the idea of 

 the strong fortress of ancient date. Above — the wildest confusion and 

 profusion of the most fantastic, the most beautiful, and the ugliest 

 forms, all mingle together, and produce an architectural scene that 

 cannot be imagined. 



The building is immense, and has an appearance of extreme gran- 

 deur, stateliness, and solidity. 



Androuet Ducerceau says, "All this edifice is admirable, by reasaa 

 of its great massiveness, and presents an effect wondrously superb on 

 account of the immensity of work in it." 



It is said to have been begun to be built by Francis I. after his re- 

 turn from Spain, aboufthe year 15215, and that nearly 2,000 workmen 

 were employed on it fur many years. 



The centre building is in the form of a square, having at the angles 

 four great round towers about (JU feet in diameter. This centre square 

 bnilding is inclosed, as it were, within an exterior court, having at lit 

 angles round toners also. Of these, the two in a line with the prin- 



