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Theory Of Decoration

The style of Francis I was one with a Gothic body and Italian Renaissance clothing. The general structural lines of buildings, both exterior and interior were a continuation of the picturesque irregularity of the medieval period, covered with a surface decoration of carving or paint of distinctly classic inspiration.

Francis' domestic interests lay primarily in the province of France known as Touraine, some 150 miles southeast of Paris. He developed the social life of the nobility in this region and was the planner of many of the chateaux along the Loire River. He added a most impressive wing to Blois, built the chateau at Chambord, started Chenonceaux, built a portion of the great chateau at Fontainebleau and modernized the Louvre in Paris which had up to that time been a medieval fortress.

The interiors of the Francis I period, of which only fragments remain in their original condition, show that the main feature of the irregularly shaped rooms was the monumental stone fireplace, somewhat similar in general form to the great hooded chimney pieces of the Gothic period, but treated with small classic pilasters and cornices. The moulding decoration, carving or painted patterns, was small in detail and probably highly colored. Ceilings were usually enriched by painting the structural beams and girders in a profusion of stripes and ornament. Floors were as a rule in highly colored tile patterns of extreme beauty. When woodwork was not used on the walls of the room, the wall surface was either painted or covered with decorated Cordova leather. In wall panelling the Gothic system was used, limiting the width of the panel to the natural width of the plank cut from the tree. The panels were often decorated with delicate arabesque ornament.

Most of the furniture of this period that has come down to us is built in the stiff rectangular shapes of the earlier type, but the tracery and ecclesiastical decoration gives way to the adoption of the classic architectural motifs. In the immediate years following the death of Francis, the development of art showed the complete elimination of Gothic forms and the final triumph of the Italian spirit. Slavish imitation was not to be neglected, however, and sufficient local influences were in force gradually to develop a native style.