What do you see today?
You can’t visit all 1500 rooms but there are plenty to keep even the most hardened chateau lover occupied for an entire day (and longer). Set in the heart of 130 acres of parkland and gardens at the heart of a forest in the Île-de-Franc, a visit to Fontainebleau opens up a wonderful outlook on French history, art and architecture.
Thanks to all those Royal and Imperial home owners, Fontainebleau is a bit of a potpourri of styles, sometimes informal, sometimes grandiose. The mismatch in styles gives it a very real, unique charm. From the outside there is no real indication of just what glories are to be found once you get through the ticket office and inside.
The mystery of the Francois 1 Gallery…
The 60m long, 6m wide gallery connected the King’s apartments to the chapel. The paintings that line the wall are masterpieces created by Italian painters, Rosso and Primaticcio. A complex jumble of stucco reliefs of gods, goddesses, winged figures, putti (cherub-like figures), garlands and salamanders (the emblem of Francois I) fill the room with colour and beauty. In their day, the subjects of the paintings would have been like messages to the learned visitors though even then not everyone understood them, the King’s sister famously admitted not “getting” it! If you look along the frescoes you’ll see elephants wearing feathered crowns, and all manner of allegorical references. Tip – get an audio guide or guide book if you want to know what it all means!