Architecture of the French Renaissance

Architecture of the French Renaissance

The Renaissance would be a convergence of social, economic and artistic forces in the middle centuries of the last millennium. A period of time which can be characterized by a refinement and mainstreaming of the classical artistic impulses which preceded it, the Renaissance is said to have largely initiated in parts of Italy such as Florence and Venice. Indeed, it would be in such contexts that many of the greatest works of modern European art would forged. During the time of the Italian renaissance, a torrent of artistic inspiration resulted in countless groundbreaking pieces of iconic imagery which would break the mold both technically and creatively. Particularly in terms of compositional depth, artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti were giving symbolic life to many of the most intellectually agonized moments of the bible or drawing up emotionally compelling demonstrations of the human emotional condition. In works by such artists, the elements of provocative coloring and symbolic disposition help to distinguish the Renaissance as a period of great human expressiveness.

Much of the work produced during this era, and particularly after the accomplishments of Raphael, would be characterized as appealing to the terms of mannerism. However, as we enter into this discussion, we recognize that mannerism is a pointed departure from that which is meant by Renaissance expression. Particularly, mannerism is a style of artistic expression which is defined by its appeal to classicist artistic parameters. The mannerist movement would find its practitioners engaged in the process of perfecting form and function. The naturalist tendencies that are otherwise associated with the Renaissance era would be dispatched by the mannerists in favor of the impulses of art as a discipline. The premise of achieving natural representations of beauty would here be eschewed in favor of a more abstract and elaborate conception of beauty. Expression for the sake of expressiveness would begin to expand the palette available to artists of the Renaissance.

For instance, "in Mannerist paintings, compositions can have no focal point, space can be ambiguous, figures can be characterized by an athletic bending and twisting with distortions, exaggerations, an elastic elongation of the limbs, bizarre posturing on one hand, graceful posturing on the other hand, and a rendering of the heads as uniformly small and oval. The composition is jammed by clashing colors, which is unlike what we've seen in the balanced, natural, and dramatic colors of the High Renaissance." (Art Movements, 1) This general discussion brings us to a more direct consideration of the so-called French Renaissance. This is the term used to describe the expressive movement in France during the time of the late Italian Renaissance. It was largely seen that the characteristics of the Italian movement were apparent in the French landscape, particularly in the architectural conceits there evident.

The architecture of France is an interesting area of focus with respect to the subject of the cross-section between mannerism and renaissance expression. Key examples of that which is seen as renaissance architecture such as Tuileries Palace and the Loire Valley suggest a clear connection to those features which were appealing to expressionists of the Italian Renaissance. In particular, we will address with closer consideration hereafter the degree to which such architectural examples are illustrative of the naturalist desires and impulses present during the Renaissance period. With this in mind, the research also demonstrates that it is inappropriate to remark upon French Renaissance architecture as being a subset of Mannerism. When we consider the elegance and detail of the chateaus and estates forged during this time in France, it is possible to recognize some aspects of Mannerism, most specifically in the narrow and delicate height of such works as the Chateau Fontainbleu and in the stately gables that shadow the Chateau Blois. (Cupola Consulting, 1) in the respect that these works conform to a certain aristocratic pretension, their appeal to mannerism is important to their respective facades. Particularly, where the architecture itself is rather straightforward, liberty is taken in the fine etching, the grand sculpting and the mysterious arches. All of these features are suggestive of the complexity of technical design pertaining to the tradition of mannerism.

However, it would not be accurate to characterize this as qualifying such examples as a subset of mannerism. To the contrary, the French architecture which would emerge and populate France both urban and rural through the Renaissance era would instead conform very much to the ambitions of the Renaissance aesthetic. Such is to say that the stateliness of natural beauty and the straightforward representation of form would remain central values to the architectural tradition. Such prominent structures as the Tuileries Palace are demonstrative of the decadent symmetry associated with the high renaissance tradition. The famous Louvre courtyard, the acreage of natural greenery and the lines of identical windows and central dome at Tuileres all are demonstrative of the renaissance impulse toward environmentally compatible grandness.

And as a point of fact, it is essential to dismiss the claim that mannerism could be considered the umbrella term for the architectural production of the French Renaissance through an understanding of the tradition that actually yielded said production. Again, as we have addressed, mannerism would play a part in the aesthetic impressions on the facades of France's renaissance chateaus. However, its impact would be superficial where compared with France's own architectural traditions, which would remain dominant in the structures of the era. The whole of this discussion is precipitated upon the invasion of Naples by conquering French king, Charles VIII in 1496. (Gordon, 1) it was at this juncture that France came into contact with the artistic output of the renaissance artists and the mannerists. Their influences would be profoundly felt in the artistic, literary and architectural patterns of the time.

However, these influences would not erase the categorical impulses of French tradition. As our research tells, it would be the French gothic tradition that would in fact have the most pervasive effect on the French structures of the succeeding artistic periods. With the addition of Italian Renaissance influences, the approach would take on new and important features. Accordingly, we find that in many of the French chateaus that emerged during the renaissance era, "Italian decorative elements were superimposed on Gothic principles. The earliest example is the Chateau d'Amboise (c.1495), where Leonardo da Vinci spent his last years. The Chateau de Chambord (1519-36) is a more elaborate marriage of Gothic structure and Italianate ornament." (Gordon, 1) it is appropriate in light of this claim to reflect on the dominant influence of the gothic tradition in French architectural history. This should serve as an effective counter-argument to the contention that we might think of French renaissance art as a subset of mannerism. This would be to diminish the relevance and indeed the dominance of French gothic tradition in the renaissance expressions of the following era. We can see a clear and logical sequence by which the cathedrals of the middle ages have given way to the chateaus and palaces of the renaissance.

Today, some of the most revered leaps in architectural technology and aesthetic revelation may be drawn to what are often derisively referred to as the dark ages. The connection between the gothic architectural approach evident in this time and the expressive naturalism of renaissance structures is clear in a discussion on the still remarkable preserved Notre Dame Cathedral of Paris and the Abbey Church of St. Denis. In conjunction with the preeminence of Paris in the encampment of the Roman Catholic Church, "architects converged on Paris and, in the dynamic atmosphere of the court, created a different Gothic in the construction at Saint-Denis ( 1230's and 1240's) . . . And the addition of transepts to the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in the late 1240's, 1250's, and 1260's." (Stoddard, 281) These two grand structures, twin pillars of the Early Gothic period initiated with the groundwork in the 12th century, would be important for their innovative solutions to desires of scales and would, in the same stroke, run aground of the very same impulses that would relegate the Middle Ages to such a negative connotation in our collective retrospect. In doing such, these would help to connect the style of artistic impulse known as mannerism to the dominant architecture that would emerge in the coming centuries.

And indeed, these examples are valuable because their respective completions would occur in rough simultaneity to the onset of the Renaissance in Italy. In the centuries which had passed since the initiation of each project, gothic tendencies had simply evolved to incorporate degrees both of renaissance-based romanticism and stylized mannerism. Indeed, the Western Halls of the Abbey Church or the Basilica of St. Denis, currently located in what is essentially a suburb of Paris, were dedicated in June of 1140, distinguishing these structures as what Summer Mck. Crosby labels the first known examples of the Early Gothic style of royal cathedral architecture. (Crosby, 1) Like Notre Dame though, the twelfth century foundation would result in the final completion of its original plans until the mid-fourteenth century. The sheer length of time designated to each suggests a great deal about the excess of resources, man-power and conceit which were reserved for the cite of worship, historical documentation, deference to the shared authority of the Crown and Church and, in the case of St. Denis, the interment of France's Kings. And embodied in this long process would be the incorporation of a host of aesthetic, spiritual and sociological impulses that would ultimately feed into the political and philosophical machinations of the renaissance. Thus, it may be that there is some elevated degree of credit to be given to the French Renaissance architects who ultimately completed these structures so unprecedented in their size.

It must be acknowledged that the construction of the Cathedral at Notre Dame would, in France, represent nothing less significant than the transition from a Roman tradition of building aesthetic values to a distinct manifestation of the Middle Ages in Europe. Begun in 1163 under the aspirations of Roman Catholic leaders in order to replace a cathedral then considered unfit to house the worship of the first French pope. From this origin, by its very admission inclined to augment and elaborate man's house of worship, it had been assured that Notre Dame would attempt to orient a new perspective with regard to the impulses guiding cathedral construction. Quite so, it would help to build the framework for the more classically European styles that would soon become dominant on the French landscape.