French Renaissance #1

          The French Style was determined by religious and political history of the eras and led by their leaders. It was a time where a ruler's influence was the most pervasive in Renaissance France. The Royal "taste" determined the design styles used at this time. With that being said, France was central to Romanesque and Gothic style. Gothic was a period that gave birth to many masterpieces than any other country before. Between the Gothic and French Renaissance, they suffered difficult times. The Black Death hit hard in France in the middle of the 14th Century. Also at this time was the Hundred Year's War. This led to almost destroying France's feudal nobility in 1337 to 1453 AD.

          The decorator became prevalent during this period. Before this came about, designing a luxurious room that provided consistency and harmony was a very complex job. In order to accomplish these tasks, a new type of profession had to come about. This sparked the ornamaniste or decorator profession. The decorator's position required conceiving a great interior as well as explaining the design to a client. Part of their job was to supervise the artisans to produce the highest quality of design.

          The architecture in France was very different than Italy. There was no need for a new religious structure because they built palaces and chateaux. Exteriors became important, and there were sprawling plans on the chateaux. Their climate required that the roofs be steep. They also had many chimneys and large windows. Roofs often had two slopes with dormer windows. A roof of this time was the mansard roof. This was created by Francois Mansart, a French Baroque architect. A lot of the times the interiors did not reflect the exterior style; this is very different than today's design.

          An example of a chateau that was built during this period was the Chateau de Chambord. It was partly designed by Leonard Da Vinci. The building had magnificent chimneys, dormer windows, a double staircase, and used the fleur-de-lis. The double staircase started at opposite sides and would never meet. Fleur-de-lis was a design motif that is still used in design today.

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Extra Credit | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mViV9N-1Doo