French

The French style had a lot of influence from several factors. Design in France was influenced by the Rulers of the time, the Royal taste, and also Romanesque and Gothic. 




The French period brought upon the decorator. The position of the decorator required a person that could not only conceive an interior design, but also explain the design through a process called "engraving". The decorator was the supervisor of the artisans to produce the highest quality design.


Francois I was a famous patron of the arts with traditional style. He created gothic forms with Italian renaissance ornament. Some of his works include Louire Valley, Chateau de Chambord, Chateau de Chambord, Chateau de Fontainebleau, Chateau de Blois, and the Renovation of the Louvre to the now Renaissance style.




Architecture in France




Because of the weather their was a need for steeper roofs, several chimneys for the amount of fireplaces, and large windows.




Chateau Chambord - Francois I




This was a Royal hunting lodge in the Loire Valley. The estate is built on 14,300 acres of forest, lakes and grassland is enclosed by a 22 mile long wall. It is known to be the largest and most majestic of the chateaus, and is where Francois I and Leonardo Da Vinci met and the famous double stair case which is attribute to Da Vinci began.




Rooms: 444
Staircases: 84
Chimneys: 365




After looking at all the work from the French style I am amazing at the scale at which the structures are. I could not imagine designing a space with that amount detail.

Modern day applications

Click here to see a tour of Chateau de Chambord

Peer Review: Italian Rennessaince

Hailey: I really enjoyed her visual aids. They gave a different look from what we learned in class as well as the modern day applications I felt were represented very well.

Lisa: Her style of writing was very descriptive and in depth allowing the reader to better understand the content of the era.

Italian Renaissance

This was the time of the Rebirth, which began in Italy, specifically in Florence, Venice, and Rome. This time is different that what we have studied in the past. The reason for this is because it is a time where Religious emphasis was fading away and it began to put emphasis on the human man/women. With the rapid growth of the Catholic church comes obvious issues and conflicts, which is where this needed for change came about. A lot of corruption and religious reform was occurring.

We began to see an strong focus on the Interior Architecture during this time. Rather than just the building façade itself or the furniture, the Interior spaces began to show a lot of importance. These interiors showed:

• Decorative Moldings
• Doors and Frames
• Elaborate Ceilings- coffered
• Painted wall and Ceiling Décor
• Elaborate Fireplace Mantels
• Pilasters
• Floors of Brick, Terra-Cotta, or Marble in a geometric pattern.

Palazzo

A generic design term referring to the general shape and characteristic of a building, the characteristics have symmetry, compound repeated windows and cornice detail.

Has a central courtyard like Roman Domus with no hallways, people living on 2nd and 3rd floor, walls contain niches, and the living spaces were over a store. The main ground floor had businesses and shops, a repair shop, Grand staircase to the main living area on the next floor, as well as summer apartments.

Palazzo Davanzati - Florence, Italy

Palazzo Farnese - Rome, Italy

Palazzo Medici- Riccardi - Florence Italy

Palazzo Ducale - Gubbio, Italy

Villa Rotonda

This is the most influential architect in all of the renaissance. He wrote The Four Books on Architecture, and designed Villa Rotondo which is said to be "Perfect."

Modern Application

Click here to watch video on the Secretes of the Last Supper by Da Vinci