School of Fontainebleau (16 century) ~ Blog of an Art Admirer

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School of Fontainebleau (16 century)

After his Italian military campaigns King of France Francis I started building a new edifice of the royal castle of Fontainebleau. In this castle Francis I kept a collection of paintings by the artists of the Italian Renaissance, which he had brought from Italy.
Also he invited Italian artists - Rosso Fiorentino, Primachino, Nicolo del Abbate, Benvenuto Cellini - to pursue an extensive decorative program for the Château de Fontainebleau. They introduced to France new art forms, glorifying the beauty of human body. These artists were also invited to create works of art for other noble families of the period and were much esteemed and well-paid.
The style basis, laid by the followers of the Italian painters in Fontainebleau, became the main movement in painting in France of the 16th century, and named 'School of Fontainebleau'.

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Diane De Poitiers

There were two periods in the Fontainebleau School movement, the first one is associated with the name of the all-powerful favorite of King Henry II of France Diane de Poitiers (from 1531).
The elegant figures of elongated proportions, portraying the mistress as the goddess Diana were typical for this "first school of Fontainebleau", showing the influence of the techniques of the Italian Mannerism of Michelangelo, Raphael and Parmigianino.
The works of this "first school of Fontainebleau" are characterized by an elaborate system of allegories and mythological iconography and a certain degree of eroticism.
A decorative revival under Henry IV, known as the 'second School of Fontainebleau'(from 1594), was also associated with the name of his favorite Gabrielle D'Estree - she and her sister, nude, bathing in the tub, are portrayed with emphatic graphic elegance, although their figures resemble sculpture.