DELORME, Philibert

Philibert Delorme is the first French architect to have something of the universality of the great Italians. He combines the engineering skill of the French mason with the learning of the Italian artist. He is classical without being merely an imitator of the Italians. Both before and after the death of Henry II he was also concerned with church building. Little of his documented work in this field survives, but there are reasonable grounds for thinking that he designed the celebrated screen in Saint-�tienne-du-Mont. In style the pierced balustrades and the spiral staircases are very close to those at the Château d’Anet, and it seems reasonable to suggest that they may be by the same architect.

Philibert Delorme is the first French architect to have something of the universality of the great Italians. He combines the engineering skill of the French mason with the learning of the Italian artist. He is classical without being merely an imitator of the Italians. Unfortunately almost all that he built has been destroyed, and apart from sections of Château d’Anet and the tomb of Francis I, we have to rely on engravings.

Though the greater part of Anet has been destroyed, its three essential features have survived: the frontispiece (avant-corps) from the main block, which now stands in the court of the �cole des Beaux-Arts; and the chapel and entrance gate, which are still in situ.

The frontispiece, shown in the photo, is a splendid example of Delorme new conception of classicism. In form it is a development of the medieval French château entrance which had already been modified and Italianized at Azay-le-Rideau and Fontainebleau. But here the transformation is more fundamental. First of all the Orders are applied in their correct sequence - Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian, as in the Colosseum in Rome. But, more important, the design has a monumentality never seen in French architecture with this grandeur or completeness.

Philibert Delorme is the first French architect to have something of the universality of the great Italians. He combines the engineering skill of the French mason with the learning of the Italian artist. He is classical without being merely an imitator of the Italians. Unfortunately almost all that he built has been destroyed, and apart from sections of Château d’Anet and the tomb of Francis I, we have to rely on engravings.

Though the greater part of Anet has been destroyed, its three essential features have survived: the frontispiece (avant-corps) from the main block, which now stands in the court of the �cole des Beaux-Arts; and the chapel and entrance gate, which are still in situ.

The frontispiece, shown in the photo, is a splendid example of Delorme new conception of classicism. In form it is a development of the medieval French château entrance which had already been modified and Italianized at Azay-le-Rideau and Fontainebleau. But here the transformation is more fundamental. First of all the Orders are applied in their correct sequence - Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian, as in the Colosseum in Rome. But, more important, the design has a monumentality never seen in French architecture with this grandeur or completeness.

Philibert Delorme is the first French architect to have something of the universality of the great Italians. He combines the engineering skill of the French mason with the learning of the Italian artist. He is classical without being merely an imitator of the Italians. Unfortunately almost all that he built has been destroyed, and apart from sections of Château d’Anet and the tomb of Francis I, we have to rely on engravings.

Though the greater part of Anet has been destroyed, its three essential features have survived: the frontispiece (avant-corps) from the main block, which now stands in the court of the �cole des Beaux-Arts; and the chapel and entrance gate, which are still in situ.

The entrance was probably built in 1552. It is designed almost without the use of classical elements, except the Doric columns round the actual door, and is thought of as a series of blocks of masonry, playing against each other almost in the manner of functionalist architecture. A sequence of rectangular blocks builds up to the central feature, surrounded by consoles and flanked by two rounded masses which support little terraces. The culmination of the whole design is the clock consisting a bronze stag surrounded by hounds, which move at the striking of the hours, a piece of mechanical ingenuity typical of the architect.

An element of colour was formerly given by a an inlay of black marble in the entablature of the Doric Order and by Cellini’s bronze relief of Diana, now replaced by a plaster copy.

View the plan of Château d’Anet.

Philibert Delorme is the first French architect to have something of the universality of the great Italians. He combines the engineering skill of the French mason with the learning of the Italian artist. He is classical without being merely an imitator of the Italians. Unfortunately almost all that he built has been destroyed, and apart from sections of Château d’Anet and the tomb of Francis I, we have to rely on engravings.

Though the greater part of Anet has been destroyed, its three essential features have survived: the frontispiece (avant-corps) from the main block, which now stands in the court of the �cole des Beaux-Arts; and the chapel and entrance gate, which are still in situ.

The entrance was probably built in 1552. It is designed almost without the use of classical elements, except the Doric columns round the actual door, and is thought of as a series of blocks of masonry, playing against each other almost in the manner of functionalist architecture. A sequence of rectangular blocks builds up to the central feature, surrounded by consoles and flanked by two rounded masses which support little terraces. The culmination of the whole design is the clock consisting a bronze stag surrounded by hounds, which move at the striking of the hours, a piece of mechanical ingenuity typical of the architect.

An element of colour was formerly given by an inlay of black marble in the entablature of the Doric Order and by Cellini’s bronze relief of Diana, now replaced by a plaster copy.

View the plan of Château d’Anet.

Delorme realized some very innovative ideas in the chapel at Anet and in the entrance pavilion, both of which still stand. The chapel, a rotunda with four arms forming a Greek cross, is based on the tepidarium of the Baths of Diocletian in Rome and on an unexecuted design by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger for the Medici Chapel at Montecassino. The remarkable coffering of the dome, made up of intersecting arcs of circles, is repeated in two dimensions on the marble pavement.

In addition to its importance as a highly original synthesis of French, Italian and antique architectural ideas, Anet shares with Lescot’s Louvre the distinction of being the first French château in which the rich decoration followed a coherent iconographic programme, its central theme of Diana and Apollo alluding to Diane de Poitiers and Henry II.

View the ground plan of the chapel.

Philibert Delorme is the first French architect to have something of the universality of the great Italians. He combines the engineering skill of the French mason with the learning of the Italian artist. He is classical without being merely an imitator of the Italians. Unfortunately almost all that he built has been destroyed, and apart from sections of Château d’Anet and the tomb of Francis I, we have to rely on engravings.

Though the greater part of Anet has been destroyed, its three essential features have survived: the frontispiece (avant-corps) from the main block, which now stands in the court of the �cole des Beaux-Arts; and the chapel and entrance gate, which are still in situ.

The chapel of Château d’Anet is still in situ, though it now stands free instead of being, as it originally was, veiled by the porticoed east wing of the court. It is the first chapel in France in which is applied the Renaissance principle that the circle is the perfect figure, and therefore suitable for the house of God. It is applied, moreover, with great originality. Not only is the central domed space circular, but the side chapels are so shaped that the outer contour of the whole building is a circle, interrupted only by the right angles of the two sacristies. Further, the marble pavement is made up entirely of arcs of circles, forming a pattern which is the direct projection of the coffering in the dome. The emphasis on the circle is in accordance with the practice of Bramante (see his Tempietto).

View the ground plan of the chapel.

Philibert Delorme is the first French architect to have something of the universality of the great Italians. He combines the engineering skill of the French mason with the learning of the Italian artist. He is classical without being merely an imitator of the Italians. Unfortunately almost all that he built has been destroyed, and apart from sections of Château d’Anet and the tomb of Francis I, we have to rely on engravings.

Though the greater part of Anet has been destroyed, its three essential features have survived: the frontispiece (avant-corps) from the main block, which now stands in the court of the �cole des Beaux-Arts; and the chapel and entrance gate, which are still in situ.

The chapel of Château d’Anet is still in situ, though it now stands free instead of being, as it originally was, veiled by the porticoed east wing of the court. It is the first chapel in France in which is applied the Renaissance principle that the circle is the perfect figure, and therefore suitable for the house of God. It is applied, moreover, with great originality. Not only is the central domed space circular, but the side chapels are so shaped that the outer contour of the whole building is a circle, interrupted only by the right angles of the two sacristies. Further, the marble pavement is made up entirely of arcs of circles, forming a pattern which is the direct projection of the coffering in the dome. The emphasis on the circle is in accordance with the practice of Bramante (see his Tempietto).

View the ground plan of the chapel.

From 1535 the Château de Chenonceau belonged to the French Crown. In 1547, Henry II offered the château as a gift to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers. In 1555, Diane de Poitiers commissioned Philibert Delorme to undertake works at her newly acquired château. He began on the construction of a bridge carrying a gallery to link the existing château on the north bank of the River Cher with the south bank. When work was suspended on the death of the King in 1559, only the arches of the bridge had been completed. Works were later resumed when Chenonceau passed to Catherine de’ Medici. The magnificent plans for the further extension of the château published by Du Cerceau in Les Plus Excellents Bastiments have been variously attributed to Delorme and to Bullant.

Philibert Delorme is the first French architect to have something of the universality of the great Italians. He combines the engineering skill of the French mason with the learning of the Italian artist. He is classical without being merely an imitator of the Italians. Unfortunately almost all that he built has been destroyed, and apart from sections of Château d’Anet and the tomb of Francis I, we have to rely on engravings.

Though the greater part of Anet has been destroyed, its three essential features have survived: the frontispiece (avant-corps) from the main block, which now stands in the court of the �cole des Beaux-Arts; and the chapel and entrance gate, which are still in situ.

The chapel of Château d’Anet is still in situ, though it now stands free instead of being, as it originally was, veiled by the porticoed east wing of the court. It is the first chapel in France in which is applied the Renaissance principle that the circle is the perfect figure, and therefore suitable for the house of God. It is applied, moreover, with great originality. Not only is the central domed space circular, but the side chapels are so shaped that the outer contour of the whole building is a circle, interrupted only by the right angles of the two sacristies. Further, the marble pavement is made up entirely of arcs of circles, forming a pattern which is the direct projection of the coffering in the dome. The emphasis on the circle is in accordance with the practice of Bramante (see his Tempietto).

The photo shows the interior of the dome of the chapel.

View the ground plan of the chapel.

Delorme realized some very innovative ideas in the chapel at Anet and in the entrance pavilion, both of which still stand. The chapel, a rotunda with four arms forming a Greek cross, is based on the tepidarium of the Baths of Diocletian in Rome and on an unexecuted design by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger for the Medici Chapel at Montecassino. The remarkable coffering of the dome, made up of intersecting arcs of circles, is repeated in two dimensions on the marble pavement. In addition to its importance as a highly original synthesis of French, Italian and antique architectural ideas, Anet shares with Lescot’s Louvre the distinction of being the first French château in which the rich decoration followed a coherent iconographic programme, its central theme of Diana and Apollo alluding to Diane de Poitiers and Henry II.

The ‘transi’ or transitory tomb became popular in the early fifteenth century in northern Europe, but not in Italy or Spain. The worldly honours of the deceased are juxtaposed with the mortal body’s inevitable decay. This type of tomb, shorn of its most macabre elements, remained popular well into the sixteenth century. Its transformation is evident in the tomb of Francis I and Claude in the royal abbey of St. Denis outside Paris. The king and queen are rendered below as nude corpses, however, their bodies lie on top of ornamental, Roman-style burial urns. They are framed by a great arch, with reliefs depicting the resurrected Christ, angels, and the four evangelists adorning its vault. Low sculpted reliefs of Francis’s victories at the battles of Marignano (1515) and Ceresole (1544) fill the stylobate (or top section of the base). Finally, Francis and Claude piously kneel at their prayer stalls accompanied by three of their deceased children.

This tomb, designed by Philibert Delorme, was commissioned by King Henry II, their son, in 1548. It was executed by the sculptor Pierre Bontemps.

The tomb of Francis I is Delorme’s solution to the problem of producing a classical version of the type of tomb invented by the Giusti for Louis XII. It is in general design a Roman triumphal arch with the side arches set back from the plane of the principal front. The use of coloured marbles is skilful and the decorative detail, for much of which Pierre Bontemps seems to have been responsible, is superb. Delorme shows astonishing skill in making a coherent whole out of such a mass of detail.

The tomb of Francis I is Delorme’s solution to the problem of producing a classical version of the type of tomb invented by the Giusti for Louis XII. It is in general design a Roman triumphal arch with the side arches set back from the plane of the principal front. The use of coloured marbles is skilful and the decorative detail, for much of which Pierre Bontemps seems to have been responsible, is superb. Delorme shows astonishing skill in making a coherent whole out of such a mass of detail.

The photo shows a detail of the entablature.