BULLANT, Jean

The Chapelle des Valois in Saint-Denis was a mausoleum which Catherine de’ Medici designed for her husband, Henry II, herself, and her sons. It was a circular building to be added to the north transept at Saint-Denis. In the middle was to stand the tomb of the King and Queen, which was begun in 1560 on Primaticcio’s designs, the sculpture being carried out by Germain Pilon.

The first design was produced by Primaticcio, but nothing seems to have been actually erected by the time of his death in 1570. In 1572 Jean Bullant was put in charge of the work, and in the following year he presented a model to the king, on which the engraving by Jean Marot, shown in the picture, was based. In 1578 Bullant was succeeded by Baptiste du Cerceau who the actual building up to the top of the second Order between 1582 and 1585. It fell into decay and was finally pulled down in the early eighteenth century.

In general design the Valois Chapel goes back to Italian models such as Bramante’s Tempietto, though if differs from any previous buildings of this type in having six chapels instead of the usual four or eight, this number being dictated by the necessity of supplying four chapels for the four sons of Henry II and two more for the altar and the entrance. The division of the chapel externally into two storeys, each with its order, from which emerges the drum carrying the dome itself, recalls Sangallo’s design for St. Peter’s.

To the last years of Henry II’s reign can be assigned the entrance wing of the Château d’�couen, now destroyed but known from engravings of Jacques Androuet du Cerceau.

Brullant built the Petit Château for the Constable Montmorency’s castle at Chantilly about 1557-59. Seen from the outside it consists of a long, rather low building linking two higher pavilions at right angles to it. Structurally it consists of two equal floors but their existence is in part masked by the use of a single Order.

The photo shows the main fa�ade of the building.

The Château d’�couen was built for Anne, Duc de Montmorency, Constable of France, between 1531 and 1563, and it is the first example in France of a four-wing plan, with corner pavilions, around a central court. It is sited on a hill, with fa�ades corresponding to the four points of the compass and the entrance wing (destroyed 1787) on the east.

The exact share of Bullant in the construction is by no means easy to define, but he had nothing to do with the west and south wings, which were built from about 1538 onwards by the obscure Pierre Tâcheron. Bullant was probably responsible for the north wing, the outer fa�ade of which is decorated with two superimposed Orders, Tuscan and Doric, and with dormers of a more classical design than in the earlier wings. This wing was probably Bullant’s first work at �couen, and can be tentatively dated about the mid 1550s. To the last years of Henry II’s reign can be assigned the portico on the court side of the north wing, and probably also the entrance wing now destroyed but known from engravings of Jacques Androuet Du Cerceau.

The historic Château d’�couen today houses the Mus�e national de la Renaissance (National Museum of the Renaissance).

The photo shows the entrance side of the château.

By far the most original part of Bullant’s work at �couen is the pavilion added to the court side of the south wing. The essential novelty here is the use of the colossal Order instead of the two superimposed Orders of the other pavilions. This appears to be the earliest surviving example of its use in France. The use of the colossal Order had been authorized in Italy by Michelangelo in the Capitol palaces. At �couen the shape enclosed by the Order is nearly square and the vertical lines dominate almost unchallenged. It was perhaps of this strong vertical tendency that the colossal Order soon became popular in France, whereas in Italy it was little used, except by Palladio, till the time of Bernini.

The photo shows the pavilion added to the south wing of the Château d’�couen, viewed from the interior courtyard. In the niches between the Corinthian columns are the copies of Michelangelo’s Slaves, the originals of which are in the Mus�e du Louvre, Paris.

By far the most original part of Bullant’s work at �couen is the pavilion added to the court side of the south wing. The essential novelty here is the use of the colossal Order instead of the two superimposed Orders of the other pavilions. This appears to be the earliest surviving example of its use in France. The use of the colossal Order had been authorized in Italy by Michelangelo in the Capitol palaces. At �couen the shape enclosed by the Order is nearly square and the vertical lines dominate almost unchallenged. It was perhaps of this strong vertical tendency that the colossal Order soon became popular in France, whereas in Italy it was little used, except by Palladio, till the time of Bernini.

The photo shows the pavilion added to the south wing of the Château d’�couen, viewed from the interior courtyard. In the niches between the Corinthian columns are the copies of Michelangelo’s Slaves, the originals of which are in the Mus�e du Louvre, Paris.

By far the most original part of Bullant’s work at �couen is the pavilion added to the court side of the south wing. The essential novelty here is the use of the colossal Order instead of the two superimposed Orders of the other pavilions. This appears to be the earliest surviving example of its use in France. The use of the colossal Order had been authorized in Italy by Michelangelo in the Capitol palaces. At �couen the shape enclosed by the Order is nearly square and the vertical lines dominate almost unchallenged. It was perhaps of this strong vertical tendency that the colossal Order soon became popular in France, whereas in Italy it was little used, except by Palladio, till the time of Bernini.

The photo shows the pavilion added to the south wing of the Château d’�couen, viewed from the interior courtyard. In the niches between the Corinthian columns are the copies of Michelangelo’s Slaves, the originals of which are in the Mus�e du Louvre, Paris.

By far the most original part of Bullant’s work at �couen is the pavilion added to the court side of the south wing. The essential novelty here is the use of the colossal Order instead of the two superimposed Orders of the other pavilions. This appears to be the earliest surviving example of its use in France. The use of the colossal Order had been authorized in Italy by Michelangelo in the Capitol palaces. At �couen the shape enclosed by the Order is nearly square and the vertical lines dominate almost unchallenged. It was perhaps of this strong vertical tendency that the colossal Order soon became popular in France, whereas in Italy it was little used, except by Palladio, till the time of Bernini.

The photo shows the pavilion added to the south wing of the Château d’�couen, viewed from the interior courtyard. In the niches between the Corinthian columns are the copies of Michelangelo’s Slaves,

Brullant built the Petit Château for the Constable Montmorency’s castle at Chantilly about 1557-59. Seen from the outside it consists of a long, rather low building linking two higher pavilions at right angles to it. Structurally it consists of two equal floors but their existence is in part masked by the use of a single Order.

Brullant built the Petit Château for the Constable Montmorency’s castle at Chantilly about 1557-59. Seen from the outside it consists of a long, rather low building linking two higher pavilions at right angles to it. Structurally it consists of two equal floors but their existence is in part masked by the use of a single Order.

In 1576 Catherine de’ Medici decided to enlarge her château of Chenonceau, which she had forced Diane de Poitiers to give up to her after the death of Henry II. Diane had built the bridge over the Cher to the designs of Philibert Delorme, and Bullant added a gallery to it, which in its general conception recalls that of La F�re-en-Tardenois.

The gallery on the bridge was part of the scheme to add to the château’s sense of scale by creating dramatic axial approaches.

This 16th-century engraving shows a bird’s eye view of �couen Castle.

The feeling for grand scale is seen clearly in the bridge and gallery which Brullant built for Montmorency at F�re-en-Tardenois. Bullant has here taken advantage of an unusual site skillfully. The deep valley is spanned by a row of simple monumental arches of enormous height, over which runs a double gallery. The ornament is limited to flat mouldings and to slight rustication on the voussoirs. The whole effect is of a Roman aqueduct thrown across a gorge.

In 1576 Catherine de’ Medici decided to enlarge her château of Chenonceau, which she had forced Diane de Poitiers to give up to her after the death of Henry II. Diane had built the bridge over the Cher to the designs of Philibert Delorme, and Bullant added a gallery to it, which in its general conception recalls that of La F�re-en-Tardenois.

The gallery is one of the best Renaissance examples inside the castle. The room is huge with eighteen windows that illuminate the room. There are two large Renaissance fireplaces at each end.

Brullant built the Petit Château for Constable Montmorency’s castle at Chantilly about 1557-59. Seen from the outside it consists of a long, rather low building linking two higher pavilions at right angles to it. Structurally it consists of two equal floors but their existence is in part masked by the use of a single Order. Pilasters appear only on the end pavilions where they are higher than the lower storey, but not high enough to enclose the windows of the upper storey which cut through the entablature.