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87-460: Louis was born on 1 November 1661 at the Château de Fontainebleau , the eldest son of Louis XIV of France and Maria Theresa of Spain (who were double-first cousins to each other). As a Fils de France ("Son of France") he was entitled to the style of Royal Highness. He was baptised on 24 March 1662 at the chapel of the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye and given his father's name of Louis. At

174-630: A Neo-Renaissance style, while the Hall of Columns, under the ballroom, was remade in a neoclassical style. He added new stained glass windows, made by the Royal Manufactory of Sèvres . Emperor Napoleon III , who had been baptized at Fontainebleau, resumed the custom of long stays at Fontainebleau, particularly during the summer. Many of the historic rooms, such as the Gallery of Deer, were restored to something like their original appearance, while

261-515: A Turkish-style salon was created for her in 1777, a room for games in 1786–1787, and a boudoir in the arabesque style. Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette made their last visit to Fontainebleau in 1786, on the eve of the French Revolution . During the French Revolution the château was far from the turbulence of Paris, and did not suffer any significant damage, but all the furniture was later sold at auction. The buildings were occupied by

348-459: A favorable impression with her good French. When she entered Strasbourg , she was addressed in German, but interrupted the greeting by saying, "Gentlemen, I speak French!" The impression of her appearance, however, was not as good, and she was called "terribly ugly". Others said that although she may not have been beautiful, she did have personal charm. As soon as she married the dauphin, Maria Anna

435-665: A large parterre of flower beds, decorated with ancient statues and separated by paths into large squares. The fountain of Diana and the grotto were made by Tommaso Francini , who may also have designed the Medici Fountain in the Luxembourg Garden for Marie de' Medici . On the south side, Henry created a park, planted with pines, elms and fruit trees, and laid out a grand canal 1200 meters long, sixty years before Louis XIV built his own grand canal at Versailles . King Louis XIII , who had been born and baptized in

522-515: A link with Spain and made her to marry the invalid Charles II of Spain , the Dauphin's half-uncle. Louis was eventually engaged to his second cousin, Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria , when he was seven. She was a year older than Louis and, upon arriving at the French court, was described as being very unattractive. Nonetheless, she was a very cultured princess, and made a good first impression as she

609-512: A national museum in 1927 and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981 for its unique architecture and historical importance. "Fontainebleau" took its name from the "Fontaine Belle-Eau", a natural fresh water spring located in the English garden not far from the château. The name means "Spring of beautiful water". In the 19th century the spring was rebuilt with an octagonal stone basin, as it appears today. The earliest reference to

696-619: A new brick and stone building, built in stages in 1738–1741 and 1773–74, extending west toward the Pavilion and grotto of the pines. Between 1750 and 1754, the King commissioned the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel , who had designed the Place de la Concorde and Petit Trianon to build a new wing along the Cour de la Fontaine and the carp pond. The old Pavilion des Poeles was demolished and replaced by

783-555: A richly coffered ceiling and dome. It was largely completed in 1546. The emblem of Henry II, the salamander, marks the keystones. In 1554, under Henry II, the architect Philibert de l'Orme built a new organ loft, supported by two tall marble columns. Stained glass windows made in Sèvres, designed by Louis' daughter Marie , an artist, were installed in the 19th century during the Louis Philippe period. The stairway of

870-516: A room for celebrations and balls. The 'H', the initial of the King, is prominent in the decor, as well as figures of the crescent moon, the symbol of Henry's mistress Diane de Poitiers . In the 19th century King Louis Philippe added the elaborate wooden floor, which copies the original designs in the coffers of the ceiling. At the eastern end is a monumental fireplace, which flanked with two statues of Satyrs copied by Primaticcio from Roman originals. (The current statues are later copies). Above

957-588: A royal residence at Fontainebleau dates to 1137 under King Louis VII the Younger , but it had probably been built earlier, during the reign of Philip I of France (1060 to 1108), when the Gâtinais region was annexed from the Duchy of Burgundy . It became a favorite summer residence and hunting lodge of the kings of France because of the abundant game and many springs in the surrounding forest. The first chateau

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1044-521: A series of heroic paintings for the salons. A new wing, named for its central building, La Belle Cheminée, was built next to the large fish pond. Henry IV also devoted great attention to the park and gardens around the chateau. The garden of the Queen or garden of Diana, created by Catherine de' Medici, with the fountain of Diane in the center, was located on the north side of the palace. Henry IV's gardener, Claude Mollet , trained at Château d'Anet , created

1131-471: A visit by the last survivor of its royal residents, the Empress Eugénie , on 26 June 1920. The façades the major buildings received their first protection by classification as historic monuments on 20 August 1913. In 1923, following World War I , it became home of the Écoles d'Art Américaines , schools of art and music, which still exist today. In 1927 it became a national museum. Between the wars

1218-509: Is hereditary. But I rejoice with you that you have been liberal, generous, humane, and have recognised the services of those who did well. Louis's capture of Philippsburg prevented the large gathering Imperial Army from crossing the Rhine and invading Alsace . Louis's position in the Conseil d'en haut gave him an opportunity to have his voice heard in the years and in the crises leading up to

1305-630: Is still part of the Oval Court. Louis VII built a chapel which was consecrated in 1169 by Thomas Becket , the English priest in exile in France because of this disagreements with King Henry II of England . He also sponsored the construction of a monastery of the Trinitarians , a mendicant order of monks, close to the castle The modest medieval castle remained until the reign of Francis I of France (1494–1547). The King commissioned

1392-600: The French Renaissance . The emblem of Francis I, a salamander surrounded by flames, is found alongside each painting he commissioned in the Grand Gallery. In about 1540, Francis began another major addition to the château. Using land on the east side of the château purchased from the order of the Trinitarians, he began to build a new square of buildings around a large courtyard. It was enclosed on

1479-598: The Monseigneur to do someone an injury was to commend him to the royal favour. He knew it, and did not conceal it from his rare petitioners. Louis XIV saw to it that his son's upbringing was quite the opposite of his own. Instead of a devoted mother and an affectionate and likeable tutor, the Dauphin had the repellent and misanthropic Duc de Montausier, who ruthlessly applied the same methods that had so disturbed Louis XIII. They annihilated his grandson. Bossuet overwhelmed his backward pupil with such splendid lessons that

1566-474: The Partition Treaty , which was signed with William III of England , even though the treaty had awarded Naples , Sicily and Tuscany to him. Louis died of smallpox on 14 April 1711, at the age of 49, and so predeceased his father. Louis married Duchess Maria Anna of Bavaria on 7 March 1680. She was known in France as Dauphine Marie Anne Victoire . Although the marriage was not a close one,

1653-479: The Tuileries Palace in 1804. The armchairs with a sphinx pattern, the consoles and screen and the two chests of drawers were placed in the room in 1806. Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria Maria Anna Christine Victoria of Bavaria ( French : Marie Anne Victoire ; 28 November 1660 – 20 April 1690) was Dauphine of France by marriage to Louis, Grand Dauphin , son and heir of Louis XIV . She

1740-677: The War of the Spanish Succession . From his mother, Louis had rights and claims to the Spanish throne. His uncle Charles II of Spain had produced no descendants and, as he lay dying, had no heir to whom he could pass the throne. The choice of a successor was essentially split between the French and Austrian claimants. To improve the chances of a Bourbon succession, Louis gave up his and his eldest son's rights in favour of his second son, Philip, Duke of Anjou (later Philip V of Spain ), who, as

1827-473: The loggia originally planned by Francis I into a Salle des Fêtes, or grand ballroom, with a coffered ceiling. Facing the courtyard of the fountain and the fish pond. The decoration of the new ballroom featured murals by Francesco Primaticcio , surrounded by elaborate stucco sculpture. A new generation of artists joined the work, including the Mannerists painters Primaticcio and Niccolò dell'Abbate . It

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1914-512: The rocaille style of the day. The decoration of the fireplace dates to the same period. The doors have an arabesque design, and were made for Marie Antoinette , as were the sculpted panels over the doors, installed in 1787. The bed was also made specially for Marie Antoinette, but did not arrive until 1797, after the Revolution and her execution. As a result it escaped the sales of the château furnishings which took place immediately after

2001-554: The Belle Cheminée, noted for its elaborate chimneys and its two opposing stairways. In 1565, as a security measure due to the Wars of Religion , she also had a moat dug around the château to protect it against attack. King Henry IV made more additions to the château than any king since Francis I. He extended the oval court toward the west by building two pavilions, called Tiber and Luxembourg. Between 1601 and 1606, he remade all

2088-419: The Belle Cheminée. King Louis XVI also made additions to the château to create more space for his courtiers. A new building was constructed alongside the Gallery of Francis I; it created a large new apartment on the first floor, and a number of small apartments on the ground floor, but also blocked the windows on the north side of the Gallery of Francis I. The apartments of Queen Marie Antoinette were redone,

2175-659: The Centaurs and the Lapithes . On the side of the gallery facing the windows, the frescoes represent: A Sacrifice ; The Royal Elephant ; The Burning of Catane ; The Nymph of Fontainebleau (painted in 1860–61 by J. Alaux to cover a former entry to the gallery); The Sinking of Ajax ; The Education of Achilles and The Frustration of Venus . The ballroom was originally begun as an open passageway, or loggia, by Francis I. In about 1552 King Henry II closed it with high windows and an ornate coffered ceiling, and transformed it into

2262-577: The Central School of the Department of Seine-et-Marne , until 1803, when Napoleon installed a military school there. He chose Fontainebleau as the site of his historic 1804 meeting with Pope Pius VII , who had travelled from Rome to crown Napoleon emperor . Apartments were refurnished and decorated for the Emperor and Empress in the new Empire style . The Cour du Cheval Blanc was renamed

2349-539: The Cour d'Honneur, or Courtyard of Honor. One wing facing the courtyard, the Aile de Ferrare, was torn down and replaced with an ornamental iron fence and gate, making the façade of the palace visible. The gardens of Diane and the gardens of the Pines were replanted and turned into an English landscape garden by the landscape designer Maximilien Joseph Hurtault . Napoleon's visits to Fontainebleau were not frequent, because he

2436-539: The Dauphin developed a lasting horror of books, learning and history. By the age of eighteen, the Monseigneur had assimilated almost none of the knowledge amassed to so little purpose, and the apathy of his mind was second only to that of his senses. He was very indolent. As an adult, his favorite amusement was laying stretched in a sofa tapping the point of his shoes with a cane. Nonetheless, his generosity, affability, and liberality gave him great popularity in Paris and with

2523-469: The French Court. The renovation projects of Louis XV were more ambitious than those of Louis XIV. To create more lodging for his enormous number of courtiers, in 1737–38 the King built a new courtyard, called the Cour de la Conciergerie or the Cour des Princes, to the east of the Gallery of Deer. On the Cour du Cheval Blanc, the wing of the Gallery of Ulysses was torn down and gradually replaced by

2610-404: The French people in general. Louis was one of six legitimate children of his parents. The others all died in early childhood; the second longest-lived, Marie Thérèse of France , died at the age of five when Louis was 11. According to John B. Wolf, Louis XIV had a low opinion of his son, writing: ...indolent, fatuous, and dull, only the saving grace of his bourgeois morals kept him from outraging

2697-538: The Gallery of Deer, were built to enclose the old garden of Diana . He also added a large jeu de paume , or indoor tennis court, the largest such court existing in the world. A second School of Fontainebleau group of painters and decorators went to work on the interiors. The architect Martin Fréminet created the ornate chapel of the Trinity, while the painters Ambroise Dubois and Toussaint Dubreuil created

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2784-487: The Grand Dauphin that Louis XIII had once shown to himself. No prince could have been less deserving of such feelings. The Monseigneur , as the heir to the throne was now known to have inherited his mother's docility and low intelligence. All his life he remained petrified with admiration of his formidable father and stood in fear of him even while lavish proofs of 'affection' were showered upon him. The best way for

2871-533: The Gros Pavilion, built of cream-colored stone. Lavish new apartments were created inside this building for the King and the Queen. The new meeting room for the Royal Council was decorated by the leading painters of the day, including François Boucher , Charles-André van Loo , Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre and Alexis Peyrotte . A magnificent small theater was created on the first floor of the wing of

2958-599: The Horse and reputed lover, the Marchese Gian Rinaldo Monaldeschi  [ sv ] , of betraying her secrets to her enemies. Her servants chased him through the halls of the château and stabbed him to death. Louis XIV came to see her at the château, did not mention the murder, and allowed her to continue her travels. On May 19–20, 1717, during the Regency following the death of Louis XIV,

3045-501: The King was installed in 1748 and 1749, in the space occupied during the reign of Francis I by the bedroom of Anne de Pisseleu , the Duchess of Étampes, a favorite of the King. It was designed by the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel , who used many decorative elements from the earlier room, which had originally been decorated by Primaticcio. The upper portion of the walls is divided into panels, oval and rectangular, with scenes representing

3132-707: The Menus Plaisirs, to provide new decors. He lived quietly at Meudon for the remainder of his life and was surrounded by his two half-sisters Marie Anne de Bourbon and the Princess of Condé , both of whom he loved dearly. The three made up the main part of the Cabal de Meudon , which opposed the Dauphin's son Louis and his Savoyard wife, the Duchess of Burgundy . During the War of the Grand Alliance , he

3219-631: The Queen Mothers (Aile des Reines Mères) next to the Court of the Fountain, designed by Primatrice. King Louis XIV spent more days at Fontainebleau than any other monarch; he liked to hunt there every year at the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. He made few changes to the exterior of the château, but did build a new apartment for his companion Madame de Maintenon , furnished it with some major works of André-Charles Boulle and demolished

3306-482: The Queen. The ornate ceiling over the bed was made in 1644 by the furniture-maker Guillaume Noyers for the Dowager Queen Anne of Austria , the mother of Louis XIV, and bears her initials. The room was redecorated by Marie Leszczynska , the Queen of Louis XV in 1746–1747. The ceiling of the alcove, the decoration around the windows and the wood panelling were made by Jacques Vererckt and Antoine Magnonais in

3393-539: The Revolution. It was used instead by Napoleon's wives, the Empress Joséphine and Marie-Louise of Austria . The walls received their ornamental textile covering, with a design of flowers and birds, in 1805. It was restored in 1968–1986 using the original fabric as a model. The furniture in the room all dates to the First Empire . The balustrade around the bed was originally made for the throne room of

3480-657: The Russian Tsar Peter the Great was a guest at Fontainebleau. A hunt for stags was organized for him, and a banquet. Officially the visit was a great success, but in the memoirs published later by members of the delegation, it appears that Peter disliked the French style of hunting, and that he found the château too small, compared with the other royal French residences. The routine of Fontainebleau also did not suit his tastes; he preferred beer to wine (and brought his own supply with him) and he liked to get up early, unlike

3567-479: The age of seven, he was removed from the care of women and placed in a society of men. He received Charles de Sainte-Maure , as his governor and was tutored by the great French preacher and orator Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet , the Bishop of Meaux, seemingly without acceptable results. Philippe Erlanger writes the following in his book about the life of Louis XIV: Louis XIV secretly nursed the same suspicious jealousy of

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3654-743: The architect Gilles Le Breton to build a new palace in the Renaissance style. Le Breton created the Cour Ovale, or oval courtyard, He preserved the original medieval keep on one side, but added a monumental new building, the Porte Dorée or Golden Gate, in the Italian Renaissance style, as the main entry of the palace, On the north side he built another building with a Renaissance stairway, the Portique de Serlio, which gave access

3741-438: The bridgeheads across the Rhine , Philippsburg , which was surrounded by marshes. Louis's courage was shown when he visited the soldiers in the inundated trenches under heavy fire to observe the progress of the siege. Montausier, his former governor, wrote to him: I shall not compliment you on the taking of Philippsburg; you had a good army, bombs, cannons and Vauban. I shall not compliment you because you are brave. That virtue

3828-508: The center of Paris , in the commune of Fontainebleau , is one of the largest French royal châteaux . It served as a hunting lodge and summer residence for many of the French monarchs , including Louis VII , Francis I , Henry II , Louis-Philippe , Napoleon I , and Napoleon III . Though the monarchs only resided there for a few months of the year, they gradually transformed it into a genuine palace, filled with art and decoration. It became

3915-502: The ceremony, the Cardinal de Vendôme and the Princess of Conti acted as proxies for the godparents, Pope Clement IX and Henrietta Maria of England . The latter was Louis's great-aunt. It was for this occasion that Jean-Baptiste Lully composed the motet Plaude Laetare Gallia . He was initially under the care of royal governesses, among them being Julie d'Angennes and Louise de Prie de La Mothe-Houdancourt . When Louis reached

4002-427: The chateau. The King and his wife, Catherine de' Medici , chose the architects Philibert de l'Orme and Jean Bullant to do the work. They extended the east wing of the lower court and decorated it with a horseshoe-shaped staircase, which was later enlarged, and became a symbol of the château. Their major project was the Oval Court, which was designed to be the entrance to the new royal apartments. They transformed

4089-560: The children of Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria . That means that he had only four great-grandparents instead of the usual eight, and that his double-cousin parents had the same coefficient of co-ancestry (1/4) as if they were half-siblings. Ch%C3%A2teau de Fontainebleau Palace of Fontainebleau ( / ˈ f ɒ n t ɪ n b l oʊ / FON -tin-bloh , US also /- b l uː / -⁠bloo ; French : Château de Fontainebleau [ʃɑto d(ə) fɔ̃tɛnblo] ), located 55 kilometers (34 miles) southeast of

4176-530: The château took place between 1964 and 1968 under President Charles de Gaulle and his Minister of Culture, Andre Malraux . It was classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. In 2006, the Ministry of Culture purchased the royal stables, and began their restoration. Beginning in 2007, restoration began of the theater of the château, created by Napoleon III during the Second Empire. The project

4263-459: The château, continued the works begun by his father. He completed the decoration of the chapel of the Trinity, and assigned the court architect Jean Androuet du Cerceau to reconstruct the horseshoe stairway earlier designed by Philibert Delorme on the courtyard that had become known as the Cour de Cheval Blanc. After his death, his widow, Anne of Austria , redecorated the apartments within the Wing of

4350-498: The coat of arms of France and the salamander , the emblem of the King. The upper walls are covered by frescoes framed in richly sculpted stucco. The frescoes depicted mythological scenes to illustrate the virtues of the King. On the side of gallery with windows, the frescoes represent Ignorance Driven Out ; The Unity of the State ; Cliobis and Biton ; Danae ; The Death of Adonis ; The Loss of Perpetual Youth ; and The Battle of

4437-534: The collection, including the replica of the crown of Siam given by the Siamese government to Napoleon III, a Tibetan mandala , and an enamel chimera from the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (1736–1795). The Gallery of Francis I is one of the first and finest examples of Renaissance decoration in France. It was begun in 1528 as a passageway between the apartments of the King with the oval courtyard and

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4524-709: The continuation of the senior Bourbon line on the throne of France and the establishment of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty. Besides his unnamed child with Mme de Choin, Louis had two illegitimate daughters with Françoise Pitel : With another mistress, Marie Anne Caumont de La Force, he had one daughter: Louis's paternal grandparents were Louis XIII of France and Anne of Austria ; he was descended, on his mother's side, from Philip IV of Spain and Élisabeth of France . Louis XIII and Élisabeth de Bourbon were siblings (the children of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici ), as were Anne of Austria and Philip IV, who were

4611-512: The couple had three sons. The Dauphine died in 1690 and in 1695 Louis secretly married his lover Marie Émilie de Joly de Choin . His new wife did not acquire the status of Dauphine of France , and the marriage remained without surviving issue. Pregnant at the time of her marriage, de Choin gave birth to a son, who was secretly sent to the countryside; the child died aged two, in 1697, without having been publicly named. Thus, through his two older sons Burgundy and Anjou, Louis ensured, respectively,

4698-411: The eastern end of the room is a gallery where the musicians played during balls. The decor was restored many times over the years. The frescoes on the walls and pillars were painted beginning in 1552 by Nicolo dell'Abate , following drawings by Primaticcio. On the garden side of the ballroom, they represent: The Harvest ; Vulcan forging weapons for Love at the request of Venus ; Phaeton begging

4785-467: The façades around the courtyard, including that of the chapel of Saint-Saturnin, to give the architecture greater harmony. On the east side, he built a new monumental domed gateway, the Porte du Baptistère. Between 1606 and 1609, he built a new courtyard, the Cour des Offices or Quartier Henry IV, to provide a place for the kitchens and residences for court officials. Two new galleries, the Gallery of Diana and

4872-503: The first time on 7 March 1680 in Châlons-sur-Marne . She was the first dauphine of France since Mary, Queen of Scots , married Francis II of France in 1558. Upon her marriage, Maria Anna took on the rank of her husband as a Fille de France (Daughter of France); this meant that she was entitled to the style " Royal Highness " and the form of address Madame la Dauphine . When she first arrived in France, Maria Anna made

4959-419: The fresco themes are more contemporary. A fresco above the fireplace depicts Sébastien de Rabutin, a huissier of the Court of Henry II, who in 1548 killed a wolf during a hunt in the forest of Orléans. Henry II commissioned the painting to commemorate the event. Behind the ballroom is St. Saturnin's Chapel. The lower chapel was originally built in the 12th century, but was completely rebuilt under Francis I with

5046-478: The gallery with murals glorifying the king, framed in stucco ornament in high relief, and lambris sculpted by the furniture maker Francesco Scibec da Carpi . Another Italian painter, Francesco Primaticcio from Bologna ("Primatice" to the French), joined later in the decoration of the gallery. Their elaborate mixture of painting and sculpture became known as the first School of Fontainebleau , which helped launch

5133-485: The great chapel of the Trinitarian monastery, but in 1531 Francis I made it a part of his royal apartments, and between 1533 and 1539 it was decorated by artists and craftsmen from Italy, under the direction of the painter Rosso Fiorentino , or Primaticcio, in the new Renaissance style. The lower walls of the passage were the work of the master Italian furniture maker Francesco Scibec da Carpi ; they are decorated with

5220-445: The large parterre into a French formal garden . He removed the hanging garden which Henry IV had built next to the large fish pond, and instead built a pavilion, designed by Le Vau, on a small island in the center of the pond. Louis XIV welcomed many foreign guests there, including the former Queen Christina of Sweden , who had just abdicated her crown. While a guest in the château on 10 November 1657, Christina suspected her Master of

5307-470: The love life of Alexander the Great . The paintings are framed by large statues of women by Primaticcio. The eastern wall of the room was destroyed during the reconstruction, and was replaced during the reign of Louis Philippe in the 19th century with paintings by Abel de Pujol . All of the queens and empresses of France, from Marie de' Medici to the Empress Eugènie , slept in the bedchamber of

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5394-530: The minor political role that he played during his father's reign, Louis engaged in more leisurely pursuits and was esteemed for his magnificent collection of art at Versailles and Meudon . Louis XIV purchased Meudon for him from the widow of Louvois. The Dauphin employed Jules Hardouin Mansart and the office of the Bâtiments du Roi but most particularly his long-term "house designer", Jean Bérain , head of

5481-564: The north by the wing of the Ministers, on the east by the wing of Ferrare, and on the south by a wing containing the new gallery of Ulysses. The château was surrounded by a new park in the style of the Italian Renaissance garden , with pavilions and the first grotto in France. Francesco Primaticcio created more monumental murals for the gallery of Ulysses. Following the death of Francis I, King Henry II continued to expand

5568-442: The old apartments of the baths under the Gallery of Francis I to create new apartments for the royal princes, and he made some modifications to the apartments of the King. The architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart built a new wing alongside the Gallery of Deer and the Gallery of Diana to provide more living space for the Court. He did make major changes in the park and gardens; he commissioned André Le Nôtre and Louis Le Vau to redesign

5655-690: The pious people about him. Like his father he enjoyed the hunt, but that was about the only way in which this disappointing son resembled his father. Being especially interested in geopolitical ties his son could help him form, the King considered various European royal daughters as possible wives for his heir, such as Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici and Louis' cousin Marie Louise d'Orléans , daughter of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans and Henrietta of England . According to various sources, Marie Louise and Louis were in love and had grown up with each other. However, Louis XIV decided to use Marie Louise to instead forge

5742-464: The private apartments were redecorated to suit the tastes of the Emperor and Empress. Numerous guest apartments were squeezed into unused spaces of the buildings. The old theater of the palace, built in the 18th century, was destroyed by a fire in the wing of the Belle Cheminée 1856. Between 1854 and 1857 the architect Hector Lefuel built a new theater in the Louis XVI style , where famous actors from

5829-528: The royal apartments. Beginning in about 1528, Francis constructed the Galerie François I , which allowed him to pass directly from his apartments to the chapel of the Trinitarians. He brought the architect Sebastiano Serlio from Italy, and the Florentine painter Giovanni Battista di Jacopo, known as Rosso Fiorentino , to decorate the new gallery. Between 1533 and 1539 Rosso Fiorentino filled

5916-909: The sculptor Charles Henri Joseph Cordier . Close by, in the Louis XV wing, the Emperor established his office, and the Empress made her Salon of Lacquer. These were the last rooms created by the royal residents of Fontainebleau. In 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War , the Second Empire fell, and the château was closed. During the Franco-Prussian War, the palace was occupied by the Prussian Army on 17 September 1870, and briefly used as an army headquarters by Frederick Charles of Prussia from March 1871. Following

6003-399: The second daughter of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici , thus her husband the dauphin was her second cousin. Born in Munich, capital of the Electorate of Bavaria , Maria Anna was betrothed to the dauphin of France in 1668, at the age of eight, and was carefully educated to fulfill that role. Besides her native language of German, she was taught to speak French, Italian and Latin. She

6090-411: The second son, was not expected to succeed to the French throne, which would thus keep France and Spain separate. Moreover, in the discussions in the Conseil d'en haut regarding the French response to Charles II's last will and testament, which indeed left all Spanish possessions to Anjou, Louis persuasively argued for acceptance. He opposed those who advocated a rejection of the will and the adherence to

6177-434: The soldiers of the Old Guard , assembled in the Court of Honor. Later, during the Hundred Days , he stopped there on 20 March 1815. In his memoirs, written while in exile on Saint Helena , he recalled his time at Fontainebleau; "...the true residence of kings, the house of the centuries. Perhaps it was not a rigorously architectural palace, but it was certainly a place of residence well thought out and perfectly suitable. It

6264-580: The sun to let him drive his chariot ; and Jupiter and Mercury at the home of Philemon and Baucis . The floor, which mirrors the design of the ceiling, was crafted by Louis-Philippe in the first half of the 19th century. The frescoes on the side of the Oval Courtyard represent: The feast of Bacchus ; Apollo and the Muses on Mount Parnassus ; The Three Graces dancing before the gods ; and The wedding feast of Thetis and Peleus . Some of

6351-516: The theatres of Paris performed portions of plays for the guests of the Emperor. On the ground floor of the Gros Pavilion, the Empress Eugénie built a small but rich museum, containing gifts from the King of Siam in 1861, and works of art taken during the pillage of the Summer Palace in Beijing. It also featured paintings by contemporary artists, including Franz Xaver Winterhalter , and

6438-690: The upper floors of the wing of the Belle Cheminée, burned in 1856, were rebuilt by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation . During World War II, it was occupied by the Germans on 16 June 1940, and occupied until 10 November, and again from 15 May to the end of October 1941. Following the war, part of the château became a headquarters of the Western Union and later NATO 's Allied Forces Central Europe / Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe , until 1966. The general restoration of

6525-564: The war, two of the buildings became the home of the School of Applied Artillery , which had been forced to leave Alsace when the province was annexed by Germany . It was occasionally used as a residence by the presidents of the Third Republic , and to welcome state guests including King Alexander I of Serbia (1891), King George I of Greece (1892) Leopold II of Belgium (1895) and King Alfonso XIII of Spain (1913). It also received

6612-520: The wife of the king's younger brother Philippe . She was said to be depressed having to live at a court where beauty was so much prized, not being beautiful herself. Elizabeth Charlotte, Madame Palatine said in her letters that Madame de Maintenon did not wish for the Dauphine to gain influence at court, and that she bribed Barbara Bessola to keep her isolated from society, while in parallel her lady-in-waiting Marguerite de Montchevreuil arranged for

6699-410: Was a square "donjon" or keep , a fortified tower surrounded by a wall. It was three stories high, and occupied an area of about fifty square meters. The lower walls were three meters wide while the upper walls were a meter wide, made of stone, had windows facing north and south and were topped by a wooden palisade. The King resided on the middle level. The original tower, rebuilt to fit the later styles,

6786-556: Was able to speak French fluently. They were married by proxy in Munich on 28 January 1680; the couple met for the first time on 7 March 1680 in Châlons-sur-Marne . Although he was permitted at first to attend and later to participate in the Conseil d'en haut , Louis did not play an important part in French politics . Nonetheless, as the heir to the throne, he was constantly surrounded by cabals battling for future prominence. Apart from

6873-407: Was also the birthplace of Francis II , Henry II's firstborn son. Following the death of Henry II in a jousting accident, his widow, Catherine de' Medici , took over the project, which she carried out through the reigns of her three sons, Francis II, Charles IX , and Henry III . She named Primaticcio as the new superintendent of royal public works. He designed the section known today as the wing of

6960-523: Was certainly the most comfortable and happily situated palace in Europe." Following the restoration of the monarchy , Kings Louis XVIII and Charles X each stayed at Fontainebleau, but neither made any major changes to the palace. Louis-Philippe I was more active, both restoring some rooms and redecorating others in the style of his period. The Hall of the Guards and Gallery of Plates were redecorated in

7047-465: Was completely unsympathetic to her situation and accused her falsely of hypochondria . Her husband took mistresses, and she lived an isolated life in her apartments, where she spoke with her friend and confidant Barbara Bessola in German, a language her husband could not understand. She was close to a fellow German – and the second Wittelsbach – at court, Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate ,

7134-534: Was funded by the government of Abu-Dhabi , and in exchange the theater was renamed for Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan . It was inaugurated on 30 April 2014. On 1 March 2015, the Chinese Museum of the château was robbed by professional thieves. They broke in at about six in the morning, and, despite alarms and video cameras, in seven minutes stole about fifteen of the most valuable objects in

7221-501: Was known as la Grande Dauphine . The Dauphine was regarded a "pathetic" figure at the court of France, isolated and unappreciated due to the perception that she was dull, unattractive and sickly. She is the ancestor of all Spanish monarchs following her son Philip V . Maria Anna was the eldest daughter of Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria and his wife Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy . Her maternal grandparents were Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy and Christine Marie of France ,

7308-692: Was occupied so much of the time with military campaigns. Between 1812 and 1814, the château served as a very elegant prison for Pope Pius VII. On 5 November 1810, the chapel of the château was used for the baptism of Napoleon's nephew, the future Napoleon III , with Napoleon serving as his godfather, and the Empress Marie-Louise as his godmother. Napoleon spent the last days of his reign at Fontainebleau, before abdicating there on 4 April 1814, under pressure from his Marshals , Ney , Berthier , and Lefebvre . On 20 April, after failing in an attempt to commit suicide, he gave an emotional farewell to

7395-408: Was said to have looked forward to the fate of becoming dauphine of France. Maria Anna was very close to her mother, who died in 1676. Her siblings included Violante of Bavaria , future wife of Ferdinando de' Medici as well as the future Elector of Bavaria, Maximilian II Emanuel . Prior to her marriage to the dauphin, there was a proxy ceremony in Munich on 28 January 1680; the couple would meet for

7482-458: Was sent in 1688 to the Rhineland front. Before leaving the court, Louis was thus instructed by his father: In sending you to command my army, I am giving you an opportunity to make known your merit; go and show it to all Europe, so that when I come to die it will not be noticed that the King is dead. There, Louis succeeded, under the tutelage of Marshal de Duras and Vauban , in taking one of

7569-469: Was the second most important woman at court after her mother-in-law, Queen Maria Theresa , consort of King Louis XIV . When the queen died in July 1683, Maria Anna ranked as the most prominent female at court and was given the apartments of the late queen. The king expected her to perform the functions of the first lady at court, but her ill health made it very difficult for her to carry out her duties. The king

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