Palace of Fontainebleau ( , ; ), located southeast of the center of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, in the commune of

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau ( , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the Kilometre zero#France, centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a Subprefectures in Franc ...

, is one of the largest French royal

château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...

x. It served as a hunting lodge and summer residence for many of the

French monarchs France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...

, including

Louis VII Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger or the Young () to differentiate him from his father Louis VI, was King of France from 1137 to 1180. His first marriage was to Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest and ...

, Francis I,

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, and

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

. 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 a national museum in 1927 and was designated a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

in 1981 for its unique architecture and historical importance.

History

Name

"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.

Hunting Lodge and castle (12th century)

The earliest reference to a royal residence at Fontainebleau dates to 1137 under King

Louis VII the Younger Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger or the Young () to differentiate him from his father Louis VI, was King of France from 1137 to 1180. His first marriage was to Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest and ...

, but it had probably been built earlier, during the reign of

Philip I of France Philip I ( – 29 July 1108), called the Amorous (French: ''L’Amoureux''), was King of the Franks from 1060 to 1108. His reign, like that of most of the early Capetians, was extraordinarily long for the time. The monarchy began a modest recove ...

(1060 to 1108), when the

Gâtinais Gâtinais () or Gâtine () was a province of France, containing the area around the valley of the Loing, corresponding roughly to the northeastern part of the département of Loiret, and the south of the present department of Seine-et-Marne. U ...

region was annexed from the

Duchy of Burgundy The Duchy of Burgundy (; ; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity in north-western regions of historical Burgundy. It was a duchy, ruled by dukes of Burgundy. The Duchy belonged to the Kingdom of France, and was initially bordering th ...

. 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 was a square "donjon" or

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

, 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, is still part of the Oval Court.

built a chapel which was consecrated in 1169 by

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury fr ...

, the English priest in exile in France because of his disagreements with King

Henry II of England Henry II () was King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with the ...

. He also sponsored the construction of a monastery of the

Trinitarians The Trinitarians, formally known as the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives (; abbreviated OSsT), is a mendicant order of the Catholic Church for men founded in Cerfroid, outside Paris, in the late 12th century. From the very o ...

, a

mendicant order Mendicant orders are primarily certain Catholic religious orders that have vowed for their male members a lifestyle of poverty, traveling, and living in urban areas for purposes of preaching, evangelization, and ministry, especially to less we ...

of monks, close to the castle

Francis I and The first School of Fontainbleau (1528–1547)

The modest medieval castle remained until the reign of

Francis I of France Francis I (; ; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once removed and father-in-law Louis&nbs ...

(1494–1547). The King commissioned the architect

Gilles Le Breton Gilles Le Breton (died 1553) was a French architect and master-mason during the Renaissance. He is best known as the mastermind of much of the present-day Château de Fontainebleau. In 1526, Le Breton was working at the Château de Chambord unde ...

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 the royal apartments. Beginning in about 1528, Francis constructed the , which allowed him to pass directly from his apartments to the chapel of the Trinitarians. He brought the architect

Sebastiano Serlio Sebastiano Serlio (6 September 1475 – c. 1554) was an Italian Mannerist architect, who was part of the Italian team building the Palace of Fontainebleau. Serlio helped canonize the classical orders of architecture in his influential treatise ...

from Italy, and the Florentine painter Giovanni Battista di Jacopo, known as

Rosso Fiorentino Giovanni Battista di Jacopo (8 March 1495 – 14 November 1540), known as Rosso Fiorentino (meaning "Florentine Redhead" in Italian) or Il Rosso ("The Redhead"), was an Italian Mannerist painter who worked in oil and fresco Fresco ( or ...

, to decorate the new gallery. Between 1533 and 1539 Rosso Fiorentino filled the gallery with murals glorifying the king, framed in

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

ornament in high relief, and ''lambris'' sculpted by the furniture maker

Francesco Scibec da Carpi Francesco Scibec, called Scibec da Carpi, was a 16th-century Italian furniture maker from Carpi near Modena. He worked for the French royal court amongst a group of artists now called the first school of Fontainebleau. Francesco arrived at the b ...

. Another Italian painter,

Francesco Primaticcio Francesco Primaticcio (; April 30, 1504 – 1570) was an Italian Mannerism, Mannerist Painting, painter, architect and sculpture, sculptor who spent most of his career in France. Biography Born in Bologna, he trained under Giulio Romano ( ...

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 The School of Fontainbleau () () refers to two periods of artistic production in France during the late French Renaissance centered on the royal Palace of Fontainebleau that were crucial in forming Northern Mannerism, and represent the first majo ...

, which helped launch the

French Renaissance The French Renaissance was the cultural and artistic movement in France between the 15th and early 17th centuries. The period is associated with the pan-European Renaissance, a word first used by the French historian Jules Michelet to define ...

. The emblem of Francis I, a

salamander Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All t ...

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 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 The Italian Renaissance garden was a new style of garden which emerged in the late 15th century at villas in Rome and Florence, inspired by classical ideals of order and beauty, and intended for the pleasure of the view of the garden and the land ...

, with pavilions and the first

grotto A grotto or grot is a natural or artificial cave or covered recess. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high tide. Sometimes, artificial grottoes are used as garden fea ...

in France.

created more monumental murals for the gallery of Ulysses.

Henry II and Catherine de' Medici (1547–1570)

Following the death of Francis I, King Henry II continued to expand the chateau. The King and his wife,

Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici (, ; , ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Italian Republic of Florence, Florentine noblewoman of the Medici family and Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to Henry II of France, King Henry II. Sh ...

, chose the architects

Philibert de l'Orme Philibert de l'Orme () (3-9 June 1514 – 8 January 1570) was a French architect and writer, and one of the great masters of French Renaissance architecture. His surname is also written De l'Orme, de L'Orme, or Delorme. Biography Early care ...

and

Jean Bullant Jean Bullant (; 1515 – 13 October 1578) was a French architect and sculptor who built the tombs of Anne de Montmorency, Grand Connétable of France, Henri II, and Catherine de' Medici. He also worked on the Tuileries, the Louvre, an ...

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 the

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...

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

, surrounded by elaborate stucco sculpture. A new generation of artists joined the work, including the

Mannerists Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it. ...

painters Primaticcio and

Niccolò dell'Abbate Niccolò dell'Abbate, sometimes Nicolò and Abate (1509 or 15121571) was a Mannerist Italian painter in fresco and oils. He was of the Emilia (region of Italy), Emilian school, and was part of the team of artists called the School of Fontaineble ...

. It was also the birthplace of

Francis II Francis II may refer to: * Francis II, Duke of Brittany (1433–1488) * Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua (1466–1519), ruler of the Italian city of Mantua * Francis II of France (1544–1560), king of France * Francis II, Duke of Lorraine ...

, Henry II's firstborn son. Following the death of Henry II in a jousting accident, his widow,

, 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 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 A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war (), is a war and conflict which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion and beliefs. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent ...

, she also had a moat dug around the château to protect it against attack.

Henry IV (1570–1610)

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 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 the Gallery of Deer, were built to enclose the old garden of

Diana Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), ...

. He also added a large ''

jeu de paume ''Jeu de paume'' (, ; originally spelled ; ), nowadays known as real tennis, (US) court tennis or (in France) ''courte paume'', is a ball-and-court game that originated in France. It was an indoor precursor of tennis played without racquets, ...

'', or indoor tennis court, the largest such court existing in the world. A second

group of painters and decorators went to work on the interiors. The architect

Martin Fréminet Martin Fréminet (24 September 1567 – 18 June 1619) was a French historical painter. Fréminet was born and died in Paris. According to thRKDhe was a painter and engraver who is considered a member of the Second "School of Fontainebleau".

created the ornate chapel of the Trinity, while the painters

Ambroise Dubois Ambroise Dubois, originally Ambrosius Bosschaert (c.1543, Antwerp - 1614/15, Fontainebleau) was a French painter, associated with the School of Fontainebleau, Second School of Fontainebleau. Biography There is some uncertainty about when he ar ...

and

Toussaint Dubreuil Toussaint Dubreuil (1561, Paris - 22 November 1602, Paris) was a French painter, associated with the second School of Fontainebleau. Biography His father, also named Toussaint, was a saddler, and he maintained a passion for horses throughout ...

created 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 Claude Mollet (ca. 1564 – shortly before 1649), ''premier jardinier du Roy'' — first gardener to three French kings, Henry IV, Louis XIII and the young Louis XIV — was a member of the Mollet dynasty of French garden designers in the ...

, trained at

Château d'Anet The Château d'Anet is a château near Dreux, in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France, built by Philibert de l'Orme from 1547 to 1552 for Diane de Poitiers, the mistress of Henry II of France. It was built on the former château at the ...

, created 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 __NOTOC__ Tommaso Francini (1571–1651) and his younger brother Alessandro Francini (or Thomas Francine and Alexandre Francine in France) were Florentine hydraulics engineers and garden designers. They worked for Francesco I de' Medici, Gr ...

, who may also have designed the

Medici Fountain The Medici Fountain () is a monumental fountain in the Jardin du Luxembourg in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, 6th arrondissement in Paris. Built in about 1630, it was commissioned by Marie de' Medici, the widow of King Henry IV of Fra ...

in the

Luxembourg Garden The Jardin du Luxembourg (), known in English as the Luxembourg Garden, colloquially referred to as the Jardin du Sénat (Senate Garden), is located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. The creation of the garden began in 1612 when Marie ...

for

Marie de' Medici Marie de' Medici (; ; 26 April 1575 – 3 July 1642) was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Henry IV. Marie served as regent of France between 1610 and 1617 during the minority of her son Louis XIII. Her mandate as rege ...

. 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 LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

built his own grand canal at

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

Louis XIII to Louis XVI (17th-18th century)

File:Fountains and gardens of Chateau of Fontainebleau (17th c.).jpg, Fountain and garden behind the château (about 1680) File:Pierre-Denis Martin - View of the Château de Fontainebleau - Google Art Project.jpg, Louis XIV hunting near the Palace of Fontainebleau. Painting by Pierre-Denis Martin (1718-1723) File:Court of Fountains, Fontainebleau in about 1750.jpg, Court of Fountains (1755) King

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...

, who had been born and baptized in 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 Jean Androuet du Cerceau (c.1585–1650) was a French architect, the son of Jean Baptiste Androuet du Cerceau, the outstanding Parisian architect of his generation. Cerceau the younger is known for his ''hôtels particuliers'' in Paris. One, t ...

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 Anne of Austria (; ; born Ana María Mauricia; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was Queen of France from 1615 to 1643 by marriage to King Louis XIII. She was also Queen of Navarre until the kingdom's annexation into the French crown ...

, redecorated the apartments within the Wing of the Queen Mothers (Aile des Reines Mères) next to the Court of the Fountain, designed by Primatrice. King

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 Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ( ...

, furnished it with some major works of

André-Charles Boulle André-Charles Boulle (11 November 164229 February 1732), ''le joailler du meuble'' (the "furniture jeweller"), became the most famous French Cabinet making, cabinetmaker and the preeminent artist in the field of marquetry, also known as "inlay". ...

and demolished 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 Jules Hardouin-Mansart (; 16 April 1646 – 11 May 1708) was a French Baroque architect and builder whose major work included the Place des Victoires (1684–1690); Place Vendôme (1690); the domed chapel of Les Invalides (1690), and the Gra ...

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 André Le Nôtre (; 12 March 1613 – 15 September 1700), originally rendered as André Le Nostre, was a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France. He was the landscape architect who designed Gardens ...

and

Louis Le Vau Louis Le Vau (; c. 1612 – 11 October 1670) was a French Baroque architect, who worked for Louis XIV of France. He was an architect that helped develop the French Classical style in the 17th century.''Encyclopedia of World Biography''"Louis Le ...

to redesign the large parterre into a

French formal garden The French formal garden, also called the , is a style of "Landscape architecture, landscape" garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. Its epitome is generally considered to be the Gardens of Versailles designed ...

. 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 Christina (; 18 December ld Style and New Style dates, O.S. 8 December1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Monarchy of Sweden, Queen of Sweden from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. Her conversion to Catholicism and ...

, who had just abdicated her crown. While a guest in the château on 10 November 1657, Christina suspected her

Master of the Horse Master of the Horse is an official position in several European nations. It was more common when most countries in Europe were monarchies, and is of varying prominence today. (ancient Rome) The original Master of the Horse () in the Roman Rep ...

and reputed lover, the Marchese , 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 In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

following the death of Louis XIV, the Russian Tsar

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

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 the French Court. The renovation projects of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

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 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 Ange-Jacques Gabriel (; 23 October 1698 – 4 January 1782) was the principal architect of King Louis XV of France. His major works included the Place de la Concorde, the École Militaire, and the Petit Trianon and opera theater at the Palace of ...

, who had designed the

Place de la Concorde The Place de la Concorde (; ) is a public square in Paris, France. Measuring in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées. It was the s ...

and

Petit Trianon The Petit Trianon (; French for 'small Trianon') is a Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical style château located on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, France. It was built between 1762 and 1768 ...

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 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 François Boucher ( , ; ; 29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories ...

Charles-André van Loo Carle or Charles-André van Loo (; 15 February 1705 – 15 July 1765) was a French painter, son of the painter Louis-Abraham van Loo, a younger brother of Jean-Baptiste van Loo and grandson of Jacob van Loo. He was the most famous member of a s ...

Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre (6 March 1714 – 15 May 1789) was a French painter, draughtsman and administrator. Life He was a student of Charles-Joseph Natoire at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture and painted a self-portrait in ...

and

Alexis Peyrotte Alexis Peyrotte (1699 - 1769) was a French decorator painter. Peyrotte was born in Avignon, and was the son of a sculptor. Early in his career he painted in the region of Carpentras parishes and congregations. He participated with Joseph Dupless ...

. A magnificent small theater was created on the first floor of the wing of the Belle Cheminée. King

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

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 Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...

were redone, a Turkish-style salon was created for her in 1777, a room for games in 1786–1787, and a ''boudoir'' in the

arabesque The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foliate ...

style. Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette made their last visit to Fontainebleau in 1786, on the eve of the French Revolution.

The Revolution and the First Empire

File:Bouchot - Napoléon signe son abdication à Fontainebleau 11 avril 1814.jpg, Napoleon signs his abdication at Fontainebleau on 4 April 1814 File:Montfort - Adieux de Napoleon a la Garde imperiale.jpg, Napoleon saying farewell to his Old Guard in the Courtyard of Honor (20 April 1814) 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 the Central School of the Department of

Seine-et-Marne Seine-et-Marne () is a department in the Île-de-France region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square kilometres (2,284 square miles); it roughly covers its ...

, until 1803, when

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

installed a military school there. He chose Fontainebleau as the site of his historic 1804 meeting with

Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...

, who had travelled from Rome to crown Napoleon emperor. Apartments were refurnished and decorated for the Emperor and

Empress The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

in the new

Empire style The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 duri ...

. The Cour du Cheval Blanc was renamed 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 The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (, , , , ), is a style of "landscape" garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal ...

by the landscape designer Maximilien Joseph Hurtault. Napoleon's visits to Fontainebleau were not frequent, because he 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

, 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 Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated of ...

Ney The ney ( ; ) is an end-blown flute that figures prominently in traditional Persian, Turkish, Jewish, Arab, and Egyptian music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only wind instrument used. The ney has been played for over 4,500 ye ...

, Berthier, and Lefebvre. On 20 April, after failing in an attempt to commit suicide, he gave an emotional farewell to the soldiers of the Old Guard, assembled in the Court of Honor. Later, during the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days ( ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition (), marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII o ...

, he stopped there on 20 March 1815. In his memoirs, written while in exile on

Saint Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...

, 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 was certainly the most comfortable and happily situated palace in Europe."

Restoration and the reign of Louis-Philippe (1815–1848)

Following the

restoration of the monarchy Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state. This may refer to: *Conservation and restoration of cultural property **Audio restoration **Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property **Film restoration ** Image ...

, Kings

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...

and

Charles X Charles X may refer to: * Charles X of France (1757–1836) * Charles X Gustav (1622–1660), King of Sweden * Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (1523–1590), recognized as Charles X of France but renounced the royal title See also * * King Charle ...

each stayed at Fontainebleau, but neither made any major changes to the palace.

Louis-Philippe I Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his thron ...

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 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.

The Second Empire of Napoleon III

Emperor

, 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 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 Hector-Martin Lefuel (; 14 November 1810 – 31 December 1880) was a French architect, best known for his work on the Palais du Louvre, including Napoleon III's Louvre expansion and the reconstruction of the Pavillon de Flore. Early life and t ...

built a new theater in the

Louis XVI style Louis XVI style, also called ''Louis Seize'', is a style of architecture, furniture, decoration and art which developed in France during the 19-year reign of Louis XVI (1774–1792), just before the French Revolution. It saw the final phase of t ...

, where famous actors from the theatres of Paris performed portions of plays for the guests of the Emperor. File:Court of Louis-Napoleon at Chateau pond.jpg, Guests of Napoleon III enjoying the carp pond (1862) File:Jean-Leon Gerome 001.JPG, Napoleon III receiving a delegation from the King of

Siam Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

in the ballroom (1864) On the ground floor of the Gros Pavilion, the Empress

Eugénie Eugénie is the French version of the female given name Eugenia. Eugénie or Eugenie may refer to: People * Eugénie d'Alsace (died 735), Second abbess of Mont Sainte-Odile Abbey * Eugénie de Montijo (1826–1920), 9th Countess de Teba; later ...

built a small but rich museum, containing gifts from the King of

in 1861, and works of art taken during the pillage of the

Summer Palace The Summer Palace () is a vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in Beijing. It was an imperial garden during the Qing dynasty. Inside includes Longevity Hill () Kunming Lake and Seventeen Hole Bridge. It covers an expanse of , three-quar ...

in Beijing. It also featured paintings by contemporary artists, including

Franz Xaver Winterhalter Franz Xaver Winterhalter (20 April 1805 – 8 July 1873) was a German painter and lithography, lithographer, known for his flattering portraits of royalty and upper-class society in the mid-19th century. His name has become associated with fashio ...

, and the sculptor

Charles Henri Joseph Cordier Charles Henri Joseph Cordier (19 October 1827 - 30 May 1905) was a French sculptor of ethnographic subjects. He is known for his polychrome sculptures in the later realist phase of Orientalism. Early life and education Cordier was born in Cam ...

. 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 Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

, the Second Empire fell, and the château was closed.

Third Republic to the present day

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 the war, two of the buildings became the home of the

School of Applied Artillery The School of Applied Artillery ( French: ''École d'application de l'artillerie'') is an applied military academy of the French Army. It is based in Draguignan. Pre-Revolutionary history During the 18th Century, there were several artillery sch ...

, which had been forced to leave

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

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 Alexander I (; 14 August 187611 June 1903) was King of Serbia from 1889 until his death in 1903, when he and his wife, Draga Mašin, were assassinated by a group of Royal Serbian Army officers, led by Captain Dragutin Dimitrijević. Acces ...

(1891), King

George I of Greece George I ( Greek: Γεώργιος Α΄, romanized: ''Geórgios I''; 24 December 1845 – 18 March 1913) was King of Greece from 30 March 1863 until his assassination on 18 March 1913. Originally a Danish prince, George was born in Copenhage ...

(1892)

Leopold II of Belgium Leopold II (9 April 1835 – 17 December 1909) was the second king of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909, and the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908. Born in Brussels as the second but eldest-surviving son of King Leo ...

(1895) and King

Alfonso XIII of Spain Alfonso XIII ( Spanish: ''Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena''; French: ''Alphonse Léon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine de Bourbon''; 17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also ...

(1913). It also received a visit by the last survivor of its royal residents, the Empress

, 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 World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, it became home of the

Écoles d'Art Américaines The Fontainebleau Schools were founded in 1921, and consist of two schools: ''The American Conservatory'', and the ''School of Fine Arts at Fontainebleau''. History When the American Expeditionary Forces entered the World War I, First World War ...

, schools of art and music, which still exist today. In 1927 it became a national museum. Between the wars the upper floors of the wing of the Belle Cheminée, burned in 1856, were rebuilt by a grant from the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

. 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 The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Denver, Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the co ...

and later

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

Allied Forces Central Europe Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS) is a NATO command with its headquarters at Brunssum, the Netherlands. It was established in 2004, as part of a reorganisation that reduced the number of NATO Military Command Structure headquarters. ...

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe The Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. SHAPE is situated in the villag ...

, until 1966. The general restoration of the château took place between 1964 and 1968 under President

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

and his Minister of Culture, Andre Malraux. It was classified as a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

in 1981. In 2006, the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...

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 was funded by the

government of Abu Dhabi The Government of Abu Dhabi () is the subnational authority that governs the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, one of the seven constituent monarchies which make up the United Arab Emirates. The executive authority and head of the government is the ruler of ...

, and in exchange the theater was renamed for Sheikh

Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (; 7 September 1948 – 13 May 2022) was the second president of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Abu Dhabi, serving from November 2004 until his death in May 2022. Khalifa was the eldes ...

. It was inaugurated on 30 April 2014."Coup de Theatre à Fontainebleau"
''Le Figaro'', April 25, 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 the collection, including the replica of the crown of Siam given by the Siamese government to Napoleon III, a Tibetan

mandala A mandala (, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for establishing a sacred space and as an aid ...

, and an enamel

chimera Chimera, Chimaera, or Chimaira (Greek for " she-goat") originally referred to: * Chimera (mythology), a fire-breathing monster of ancient Lycia said to combine parts from multiple animals * Mount Chimaera, a fire-spewing region of Lycia or Cilicia ...

from the reign of the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, personal name Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China pr ...

(1736–1795).

Architecture

File:Château de Fontainebleau 2011 (21).JPG, Keep or tower of the Medieval château on the Oval Courtyard (12th century) File:Fontainebleau Château 534.jpg, Fine Fireplace Wing, built by

Primaticcio Francesco Primaticcio (; April 30, 1504 – 1570) was an Italian Mannerist painter, architect and sculptor who spent most of his career in France. Biography Born in Bologna, he trained under Giulio Romano in Mantua and became a pupil of ...

for

Catherine de Medici Catherine de' Medici (, ; , ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Italian Florentine noblewoman of the Medici family and Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King Henry II. She was the mother of French kings Fran ...

(1565-1570) File:Fontainebleau Cour Ovale 2015.JPG, Royal residence of Henry IV on the Oval Courtyard (1601-1606) File:Chateau de Fontainebleau 04.jpg, "Golden Gate" portal to the oval courtyard (left) and Saturnin Chapel (right), rebuilt with new façade by Henry IV File:Chateau de Fontainebleau 08.jpg, Stag's Callery and Diana's gallery, enclosed the Garden of Diana, between 1601 and 1606 File:Château de Fontainebleau-Cour ovale-Porte du Baptistère-20170916.jpg, Oval Courtyard and the Portal of the Baptistry (1601-1606) File:2023-06-02 Chateau de Fontainebleau 13.jpg, The enlarged Horseshoe stairway (1602) File:Château de Fontainebleau-Le Gros pavillon-20170904.jpg, State Pavilion, designed by

(1750-1754), contained the updated apartments of the King and Queen and the Royal Council Chamber (1750-1754) File:Château de Fontainebleau-Vue du sud-20170119.jpg, View from the South across the Carp Pond. The State Pavilion (1750-1754) is to the left; the Courtyard of the Fountain is in the center, the Oval Courtyard (1601-1606) and early palace buildings are to the right

Palace Interior

Gallery of Francis I

File:Château de Fontainebleau - Galerie François Ier (4).jpg, Gallery of Francis I, connecting the King's apartments with the chapel, was first decorated between 1533 and 1539. It introduced the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...

style to France. File:P1290819 Fontainebleau chateau rwk.jpg, "The Enlightenment of Francis I by

File:Fontainebleau Galerie Éléphant.JPG, "The Royal Elephant" (center) - "The abduction of Europa by Jupiter" (left),"The Abduction of Phylira by Saturn" (right) by

File:Salamander emblem off Francois I, Chateau of Fontainebleau.jpg, The emblem of Francis I, a salamander surrounded by flames, is found above each painting 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 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

, or Primaticcio, in the new Renaissance style. The lower walls of the passage were the work of the master Italian furniture maker

; they are decorated with the coat of arms of France and the

, 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 In Greek mythology, Adonis (; ) was the mortal lover of the goddesses Aphrodite and Persephone. He was considered to be the ideal of male beauty in classical antiquity. The myth goes that Adonis was gored by a wild boar during a hunting trip ...

''; ''The Loss of Perpetual Youth''; and ''The Battle of 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''.

Ballroom (1552)

File:ChateauFontainebleau06.jpg, The Ballroom was created by King Henry II beginning in 1552 File:Fontainebleau Château de Fontainebleau Innen Ballsaal 11.jpg, Musician's Gallery and the coffered ceiling of the ballroom File:2023-06-02 Chateau de Fontainebleau 55.jpg, Fireplace in the ballroom, flanked by statues of

satyrs In Greek mythology, a satyr (, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( ), and sileni (plural), is a male nature spirit with ears and a tail resembling those of a horse, as well as a permanent, exaggerated erection. Early artistic represen ...

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 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 Diane de Poitiers (9 January 1500 – 25 April 1566) was a French noblewoman and courtier who wielded much power and influence as King Henry II of France, Henry II's Maîtresse-en-titre, royal mistress and adviser until his death. Her position inc ...

. In the 19th century King

Louis Philippe Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

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 In Greek mythology, a satyr (, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( ), and sileni (plural), is a male nature spirit with ears and a tail resembling those of a horse, as well as a permanent, exaggerated erection. Early artistic represen ...

copied by Primaticcio from Roman originals. (The current statues are later copies). Above the eastern end of the room is a gallery where the musicians played during balls. The decor was restored many times over the years. File:Fontainebleau Salle de Bal Fresque.JPG, Hunter kills a boar in the forest of Orléans File:Fontainebleau (77) Château Salle de Bal 04.JPG, Fresco by Nicolo dell'Abate from designs by Primaticcio File:Fontainebleau (77) Château Salle de Bal 06.JPG, Fresco from design by Primaticcio File:Fontainebleau (77) Château Salle de Bal 08.JPG, Fresco from design by Primaticcio 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 Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

''; '' Phaeton begging 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

in the first half of the 19th century. The frescoes on the side of the Oval Courtyard represent: ''The feast of

Bacchus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ) by the Gre ...

''; ''

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

and the

Muses In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

Mount Parnassus Mount Parnassus (; , ''Parnassós'') is a mountain range of central Greece that is, and historically has been, especially valuable to the Greek nation and the earlier Greek city-states for many reasons. In peace, it offers scenic views of the c ...

''; ''The Three Graces dancing before the gods''; and ''The wedding feast of

Thetis Thetis ( , or ; ) is a figure from Greek mythology with varying mythological roles. She mainly appears as a sea nymph, a goddess of water, and one of the 50 Nereids, daughters of the ancient sea god Nereus. When described as a Nereid in Cl ...

and

Peleus In Greek mythology, Peleus (; Ancient Greek: Πηλεύς ''Pēleus'') was a hero, king of Phthia, husband of Thetis and the father of their son Achilles. This myth was already known to the hearers of Homer in the late 8th century BC. Biogra ...

''. Some of 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.

Chapel of Saint Saturnin

File:Fontainebleau Château de Fontainebleau Innen Hohe Kapelle Saint-Saturnin Gewölbe 4.jpg, Ceiling of the Chapel with emblem of Henry II File:Fontainebleau Château de Fontainebleau Innen Hohe Kapelle Saint-Saturnin Kuppel 1.jpg, Dome over the chapel 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 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

built a new organ loft, supported by two tall marble columns. Stained glass windows made in Sèvres, designed by Louis' daughter

Marie Marie may refer to the following. People Given name * Marie (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** List of people named Marie * Marie (Japanese given name) Surname * Jean Gabriel-Marie, French compo ...

, an artist, were installed in the 19th century during the Louis Philippe period.

The King's Staircase

File:Fontainebleau Château de Fontainebleau Innen Königstreppe 1.jpg, Paintings and sculpture in the King's Stairway File:Escalier du roi, Château de Fontainebleau.jpg, King's Staircase (1748-1749) File:Fontainebleau - Le château - PA00086975 - 073.jpg, Decoration of the King's Staircase The stairway of 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 Anne de Pisseleu d'Heilly (), Duchess of Étampes, (15081580) was chief mistress of Francis I of France. She became Francis' mistress following his return from captivity in 1526. Anne enriched her family and friends through her courtly influenc ...

, the Duchess of Étampes, a favorite of the King. It was designed by the architect

, 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 the love life of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

. 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 Alexandre-Denis-Abel de Pujol or Abel de Pujol (30 January 1785 in Valenciennes – 29 September 1861 in Paris) was a French painter. He was a student of David and his own students included Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps and Émile Lévy. He pain ...

The Queen's bedchamber

File:La chambre de l'Impératrice vue d ensemble (Château de Fontainebleau).jpg, The bedchamber of the Queen File:Fontainebleau Château de Fontainebleau Innen Schlafzimmer Salon der Kaiserin Decke 2.jpg, Center of the bedroom ceiling, carved by Guillaume Noyers (1644) File:Chateau de Fontainebleau FRA 030.JPG, The bed of Marie Antoinette, ordered for her just before the French Revolution. It was used by the Empresses Josephine and Marie-Louise. All of the queens and empresses of France, from

to the Empress Eugènie, slept in the bedchamber of the Queen. The ornate ceiling over the bed was made in 1644 by the furniture-maker Guillaume Noyers for the Dowager Queen

, the mother of Louis XIV, and bears her initials. The room was redecorated by

Marie Leszczynska Marie may refer to the following. People Given name * Marie (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** List of people named Marie * Marie (Japanese given name) Surname * Jean Gabriel-Marie, French compose ...

, 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 the

rocaille Rocaille ( , ) was a French style of exuberant decoration, with an abundance of curves, counter-curves, undulations and elements modeled on nature, that appeared in furniture and interior decorative arts, decoration during the early reign of Lo ...

style of the day. The decoration of the fireplace dates to the same period. The doors have an

design, and were made for

, 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 the Revolution. It was used instead by Napoleon's wives, the

Empress Joséphine The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/ grand empress dowager), or a woman who rule ...

and

Marie-Louise of Austria Marie Louise (Maria Ludovica Leopoldina Franziska Theresia Josepha Lucia; 12 December 1791 – 17 December 1847) was Duke of Parma, Duchess of Parma from 11 April 1814 until her death in 1847. She was Napoleon's second wife and as such Empress o ...

. 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 First Empire may refer to: *First British Empire, sometimes used to describe the British Empire between 1583 and 1783 *First Bulgarian Empire (680–1018) *First French Empire (1804–1814/1815) * First German Empire or "First Reich", sometimes use ...

. The balustrade around the bed was originally made for the throne room of the

Tuileries Palace The Tuileries Palace (, ) was a palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the Seine, directly in the west-front of the Louvre Palace. It was the Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from Henri IV to Napoleon III, until it was b ...

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.

Boudoir of Marie-Antoinette (1786)

File:2023-06-02 Chateau de Fontainebleau 96.jpg, Boudoir of Queen Marie Antoinette (1786) File:2023-06-02 Chateau de Fontainebleau 106.jpg, Doorway sculpture by Sauvage with initials of Marie Antoinette (1787) File:2023-06-02 Chateau de Fontainebleau 110.jpg, Ceiling of angels painted by Bourgeois and Touze (1786) File:2023-06-02 Chateau de Fontainebleau 87.jpg, Decorative panel in the Queens's boudoir The boudoir next to the queen's bedroom was created for Queen

in 1786, and permitted the queen to have a measure of privacy. The room is the best surviving example of the decorative style just before the French Revolution, inspired by ancient Roman models, with delicately painted arabesques, cameos, vases, antique figures and garlands of flowers against a silver background, framed by gilded and sculpted woodwork. The room was made for the Queen by the same team of artists and craftsmen who also made the game room; the design was by the architect Pierre Rousseau (1751–1829). The wood panelling was sculpted by Laplace, and painted by Michel-Hubert Bourgeois and Louis-François Touzé. Eight figures of the Muses were made in plaster by Roland; the ornate mantle of the fireplace was made by Jacques-François Dropsy, and decorated with glided bronze works by Claude-Jean Pitoin. The mahogany parquet floor, decorated with the emblems of the Queen, was made by Bernard Molitor, and finished in 1787. The painted ceiling, by

Jean-Simon Berthélemy Jean-Simon Berthélemy (5 March 1743 – 1 March 1811) was a French history painter who was commissioned to paint allegorical ceilings for the Palais du Louvre, the Luxembourg Palace and others, in a conservative Late Baroque-Rococo manner o ...

, shows

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

with a group of angels. The furnishings were designed for the room by

Jean-Henri Riesener Jean-Henri Riesener (; 4 July 1734 – 6 January 1806) was a famous German ''ébéniste'' (cabinetmaker), working in Paris, whose work exemplified the early neoclassical "Louis XVI style". Life and career Riesener was born in Gladbeck, Westpha ...

, using the finest materials available; mother of pearl, gilded bronze, brass, satin and ebony. Some of the original furnishings remain, including the cylindrical desk and the table, which were made between 1784 and 1789. The two armchairs are copies of the originals made by

Georges Jacob Georges Jacob (6 July 1739 – 5 July 1814) was one of the two most prominent Parisian master ''menuisiers''. He produced carved, painted and gilded beds and seat furniture and upholstery work for the French royal châteaux, in the Neoclassical s ...

which are now in the

Gulbenkian Museum The Calouste Gulbenkian Museum houses one of the world's most important private art collections. It includes works from Ancient Egypt to the early 20th century, spanning the arts of the Islamic World, China and Japan, as well as the French decorat ...

in Lisbon, while the footstool is the original.

Games Room of Marie-Antoinette and Grand Salon of the Empress Eugenie (1786)

File:Fontainebleau Château de Fontainebleau Innen Großer Salon der Kaiserin 2.jpg, Arabesque decoration of the

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

File:2023-06-02 Chateau de Fontainebleau 70.jpg, Ceiling of the Grand Salon, ""The Muses being crowned by Minerva" by

(1786) File:Château de Fontainebleau 2011 (289).JPG, Sevres vases File:2023-06-02 Chateau de Fontainebleau 68.jpg, Arabseque wall panel (18th century) The Games Room was created for Marie Antoinette in 1786, and is a notable example of the Arabesque style popular in the First French Empire in the 18th century. The walls are filled with large wall panels, with grisaille and monochrome depictions twining plants, women in flowing robes, dancers, mermaids, torches and vases. The same designs appear in gilding on the mahogany doors. The room is now furnished in the

. The chairs followed the rules of protocol, with armchairs for the Emperor and Empress, chairs for princesses, and folding chair and stools covered with green velvet trimmed with gold for the guests.

The Queen's Small Salon or the White Salon (1835)

The White Salon was created in 1835 as a salon for Queen Marie-Amelie, the wife of King

to replace the Queen's Study of Marie de Medici. Just one element of the 17th century salon, remains; paintings by Amboise Dubois depicting the legend of Tancred and Clorinda. It is one of the best examples of the 19th century style of Louis-Philippe, which blended together earlier styles; it combined

wainscotting Panelling (or paneling in the United States) is a Millwork (building material), millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials. Panelling ...

from the reign of Louis XV of France, along with a

fireplace, an

chimney, and armchairs by Jacob-Freres and Jacob Desmalter and other prominent designers of the early 19th century.

Bed chamber of the Kings of France and Throne Room of Napoleon

File:La salle du Trône (Château de Fontainebleau).jpg, Bed Chamber of the Kings of France and Throne Room of Napoleon File:Fontainebleau Château de Fontainebleau Innen Thronsaal 1.jpg, Decor from throne room of Louis XV (1752-54) File:Fontainebleau Château de Fontainebleau Innen Thronsaal Decke 1.jpg, Ceiling decoration from throne room of Louis XV (1752-54) In 1808 Napoleon decided to install his throne in the former bedroom of the kings of France from Henry IV to Louis XVI, on the place where the royal bed had been. Under the

Ancien régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

, the King's bed was a symbol of royal authority in France and was saluted by courtiers who passed by it. Napoleon wanted to show the continuity of his Empire with the past monarchies of France. The majority of the carved wood ceiling, the lower part of the wood panelling, and the doors date to the reign of Louis XIII. The ceiling directly over the throne was made at the end of the reign of Louis XIV. Louis XV created a new chimney, sculpted wooden medallions near the fireplace, the designs over the doors, and the fine carved woodwork facing the throne (1752–54). He also had the ceiling painted white and gilded and decorated with mosaics, to match the ceiling of the bedroom of the Queen. Napoleon added the standards with his initial and the Imperial eagle. The decoration around the throne was originally designed in 1804 by Jacob-Desmalter for the

Château de Saint-Cloud The château de Saint-Cloud () was a château in France, built on a site overlooking the Seine at Saint-Cloud in Hauts-de-Seine, about west of Paris. The gardens survive, and the estate is now known as the Parc de Saint-Cloud. The château was ...

, and the throne itself, made in 1804, came from the Tuileries Palace. The chimney was originally decorated with a portrait of Louis XIII painted by

Philippe de Champaigne Philippe de Champaigne (; 26 May 1602 – 12 August 1674) was a Duchy of Brabant, Brabant-born French people, French Baroque era painter, a major exponent of the French art, French school. He was a founding member of the Académie royale de pein ...

, which was burned in 1793 during the French Revolution. Napoleon replaced it with a portrait of himself, by

Robert Lefèvre Robert Jacques François Faust Lefèvre (, 24 September 1755, in Bayeux – 3 October 1830, in Paris) was a French painter of portraits, history paintings and religious paintings. He was heavily influenced by Jacques-Louis David and his style is ...

. In 1834, King

took down Napoleon's picture and replaced with another of Louis XIII, from a painter of the school of Champaigne.

Council Chamber

File:Fontainebleau - Le château - PA00086975 - 101.jpg, The Council Chamber File:Fontainebleau Château de Fontainebleau Innen Ratssaal 1.jpg, Council Chamber decoration (1751-54) File:2023-06-02 Chateau de Fontainebleau 115.jpg, A ceiling painting by Francois Boucher (1751-1754) The Council Chamber, where French Kings and later the Emperors Napoleon I and Napoleon III met their closest advisors, was close to the Throne Room. It was originally the office of Francis I, and was decorated with painted wooden panels with illustrations by Primaticcio depicting the virtues and the heroes of antiquity. The room was enlarged under Louis XIV, and the decorator, Claude Audran, followed the same theme. The room was extensively redecorated between 1751 and 1754 by the architect

, with arcades and wooded panels illustrating the Virtues, and allegories of the seasons and the elements, painted by

and

Carle van Loo Carle or Carlé is a surname. Notable people with the name include: *Andrea Cosima Carle, whose stage name is Maggie Mae (1960–2021), German singer * Barbara Carle (born 1958), French-American poet, critic, translator and Italianist * David Ca ...

, the latter painted his scenes in blue monochrome, while Pierre used pink monochrome. The painter

added another series of medallions on the upper walls depicting floral themes, the sciences and arts. The five paintings on the vaulted ceiling were the work of

, and illustrate the Four Seasons and the sun beginning his journey and chasing away the night. A half-rotonda on the garden side of the room was added by Louis XV in 1773, with a painted ceiling by

Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée (called ''Lagrenée l'aîné'', Lagrenée the elder) (30 December 1724 – 19 June 1805) was a French rococo painter and student of Carle van Loo. He won the ''Grand Prix de Rome'' for painting in 1749 and w ...

depicting Glory surrounded by his children. The room was used as a council chamber by Napoleon I, and the furnishings are from that time. The armchairs at the table for the ministers are by Marcion (1806) and the folding chairs for advisors were designed by Jacob-Desmalter (1808).

Apartment of Napoleon

In 1804 Napoleon decided that he wanted his own apartments within the palace, separate from the old royal apartments. He took over a suite of six rooms which had been created in 1786 for Louis XVI, next to the Gallery of Francis I, and had them redecorated in the Empire style. The old apartment included a dressing room (''cabinet de toilette''), study, library, and bath.

Emperor's bedchamber

File:Fontainebleau Château de Fontainebleau Innen Schlafzimmer des Kaisers 1.jpg, Bedroom of the Emperor Napoleon (1808–1814) File:Château de Fontainebleau 2011 (299).JPG, The bed of the Emperor File:Fontainebleau Château de Fontainebleau Innen Schlafzimmer des Kaisers 2.jpg, Wall panelling carved by Laplace for Louis XV, painted for Napoleon I with emblems of the Emperor Beginning in 1808, Napoleon had his bedchamber relocated the former dressing room of the King. From this room, using a door hidden behind the drapery to the right of the bed, Napoleon could go directly to his private library or to the offices on the ground floor. Much of the original decor was unchanged from the time of Louis XVI; the fireplaces, the carved wooden panels sculpted by Pierre-Joseph LaPlace and the sculpture over the door by Sauvage remained as they were. The walls were painted with Imperial emblems in gold on white by Frederic-Simon Moench. The bed, made especially for the Emperor, was the summit of the Empire style; it was crowned with an imperial eagle and decorated with allegorical sculptures representing Glory, Justice, and Abundance. The Emperor had a special carpet made by Sallandrouze in the shape of the cross of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

; the branches of the cross alternate with symbols of military and civilian attributes. The chairs near the fireplace were specially designed, with one side higher than the other, to contain the heat from the fire while allowing the occupants to see the decorations of the fireplace. The painting on the ceiling of the room was added later, after the downfall of Napoleon, by

. Painted by

Jean-Baptiste Regnault Jean-Baptiste Regnault (; 9 October 1754 – 12 November 1829) was a French painter. Biography Regnault was born in Paris, and began life at sea in a merchant vessel. At the age of fifteen his talent attracted attention, and he was sent to ...

, it is an allegory representing ''The clemency of the King halting justice in its course.''

Other rooms in the Emperor's apartment

File:P1290884 Fontainebleau chateau rwk.jpg, The Study, With a camp bed, where Napoleon could work late at night File:Chateau Fontainebleau-002.jpg, Bathroom of the Emperor, with cotton-skirted bathtub and foot basin File:Gueridon fontainebleau.JPG, The table where Napoleon signed his abdication at Fontainebleau on 4 April 1814, before his exile to

Elba Elba (, ; ) is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park, a ...

The small bedchamber often served as Napoleon's work room. In 1811 he added the camp bed, similar to the bed he used on his military campaigns. He could rest briefly, then take a back stairway to continue working in the library or map room on the floor below. The private salon or study of the Emperor was simply furnished and decorated. It was in this room, on the small table on display, that the Emperor signed his abdication in 1814. The small and simple bathroom of the Emperor had a tinned copper bathtub surrounded by a simple cotton skirt, where he could soak in hot water. It also had a varnished metal tub where he could soak his feet.

Apartment of the Pope and the Queen-Mothers

File:Fontainebleau Grand Salon.jpg, Antechamber of the Bedroom of the Queen Mother File:Château de Fontainebleau, 2013 (06).jpg, Tapestry in the antechamber of the bedroom of the Queen Mother (Mid-17th century) File:Fontainebleau - Le château - PA00086975 - 037.jpg, Tapestries in the bedroom of the Queen Mother File:Fontainebleau - Le château - PA00086975 - 034.jpg, Bedroom of the Queen-Mother

(Mid-17th century) , Tapestries of "The Triumph of the Gods (18th century) The apartment of the Pope, located on the first floor of the wing of the Queen Mothers and of the Gros Pavillon, takes its name from the 1804 visit of Pope Pius VII, who stayed there on his way to Paris to crown Napoleon the Emperor of France. He stayed there again, involuntarily, under the close supervision of Napoleon from 1812 to 1814. It was originally designed to be the bedroom of Henry II, but after his assassination, it became instead the apartment of his widow, the Queen Mothers

and

. It was also the home of

Louis, Grand Dauphin Louis, Dauphin of France (1 November 1661 – 14 April 1711), commonly known as le Grand Dauphin, was the eldest son and heir apparent of King Louis XIV and his spouse, Maria Theresa of Spain. He became known as the Grand Dauphin after the birth ...

, the oldest son of Louis XIV. In the 18th century it was used by the daughters of Louis XV, and then by the Count of Provence, the brother of Louis XVI. During the First Empire it was used by

Louis Bonaparte Louis Bonaparte (born Luigi Buonaparte; 2 September 1778 – 25 July 1846) was a younger brother of Napoleon, Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. He was a monarch in his own right from 1806 to 1810, ruling over the Kingdom of Holland (a French c ...

, the brother of Napoleon, and his wife Queen

Hortense de Beauharnais Hortense Eugénie Cécile Bonaparte (; , ; 10 April 1783 – 5 October 1837) was Kingdom of Holland, Queen of Holland as the wife of King Louis Bonaparte. She was the stepdaughter of Emperor Napoléon I as the daughter of his first wife, Joséphi ...

, the daughter of the Empress Joséphine. During the reign of Louis-Philippe, it was used by his eldest son,

Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...

. During the Second Empire, it was occupied by

Stéphanie de Beauharnais Stéphanie Louise Adrienne de Beauharnais (28 August 1789 – 29 January 1860) was a French princess and the Grand Duchess consort of Baden by marriage to Karl, Grand Duke of Baden. Biography Early life Born in Versailles at the beginning of the ...

, the adopted niece of Napoleon I. It was restored in 1859–1861, and used thereafter for guests of high rank. It was originally two apartments, which were divided or joined over the years depending upon its occupants. Other notable guests in the apartment included James II, the deposed King of England. and the Russian czar

(1717). The Salon de Reception was the antechamber to the bedroom of Anne of Austria, wife of Louis XIII and mother of Louis XIV. It features a gilded and sculpted ceiling divided into seven compartments, representing the sun and the known planets, along with smaller compartments for military trophies; it was created in 1558 by Ambroise Perret for the bedroom of Henry II in the Pavilion des Poeles, a section of the château that was later destroyed. Anne had it moved to the room and decorated with her own emblems, including a pelican. The wood paneling in the room is probably from the same period. The decor of the bedroom dates largely to the 1650s; it includes grotesque paintings in compartments on the ceiling, attributed to Charles Errard; richly carved wood paneling featuring oak leaves and

putti A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and very often winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,Dempsey, Charles. ''Inventing the Renaissance Putto''. University ...

; and paintings over the doors of Anne of Austria costumed as

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

and

Maria Theresa of Spain Maria Theresa of Spain (; ; 10 September 1638 – 30 July 1683) was Queen consort of France, Queen of France from 1660 to 1683 as the wife of King Louis XIV. She was born an Infante, Infanta of Spain and Portugal as the daughter of King Philip IV ...

costumed as Abundance, both painted by Gilbert de Sève. The bedroom was modified in the 18th century by the addition of a new fireplace (about 1700) and sculptured borders of cascades of flowers around the mirrors added in 1784. During the Second Empire, painted panels imitating the style of the 17th century were added above the mirrors and between the mirrors and the doors.

Chapel of the Trinity (17th century)

File:Fontainebleau Château de Fontainebleau Innen Dreifaltigkeitskapelle 2.jpg, Trinity Chapel File:Château de Fontainebleau, 2013 (10).jpg, The royal tribune or gallery File:Fontainebleau Château de Fontainebleau Innen Dreifaltigkeitskapelle Chor 2.jpg, The Altar File:Fontainebleau - Le château - PA00086975 - 106.jpg, Ornament over the chapel gallery with the coats of arms of France and of the Medici Family The Chapel of the Trinity was begun at the end of the reign of Francis I to replace the old chapel of the convent of the Trinitarians. It was finished under Henry II, but was without decoration until 1608, when the painter

Martin Freminet Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * Mart� ...

was commissioned to design frescoes for the ceiling and walls. The sculptor Barthèlemy Tremblay created the vaults of the ceiling out of stucco and sculpture. The paintings of Freminet in the central vaults depict the redemption of Man, from the appearance of God to Noah at the launching of the Noah's Ark, Ark (Over the tribune) to the Annunciation. They surrounded these with smaller paintings depicting the ancestors of the Virgin Mary, the kings of Kingdom of Judah, Judah, the Patriarchs announcing the coming of Christ, and the Virtues. Between 1613 and 1619 Freminet and Tremblay added paintings in stucco frames between the windows on the sides of the chapel, depicting the life of Christ. Freminet died in 1619 and work did not resume until 1628. The Trinity chapel, like Sainte-Chapelle in Paris other royal chapels, had an upper section or tribune, where the King and his family sat, with a separate entrance; and a lower part, where the rest of the Court was placed. Beginning in 1628, the side chapels were decorated with iron gates and carved wood panelling, and the Florentine sculptor Francesco Bordoni began work on the marble altar. The figure to the left depicts Charlemagne, with the features of Henry II, while the figure on the right depicts Louis IX, or Saint Louis, with the features of

, his patron. Bordoni also designed the multicolored marble pavement before the altar and the on the walls of the nave. The painting of the Holy Trinity over the altar, by Jean Dubois the Elder, was added in 1642. In the mid-17th century the craftsman Anthony Girault made the sculpted wooden doors of the nave. while the Jean Gobert made the doors of the tribune where the royal family worshipped. In 1741, the royal tribune was enlarged, while ornate balconies of wrought iron were added between the royal tribune and the simpler balconies used by the musicians and those who chanted the mass. In 1779, under Louis XVI, the frescoes of Freminet illustrating the life of Christ, which had deteriorated with time, were replaced by new paintings on the same theme. The paintings were done in the same style by about a dozen painters from the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture, Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. On 5 September 1725, the chapel was the setting for the wedding of Louis XV and Marie Leszczyńska.

was baptized there on 4 November 1810, and

, the son of King

, was married there to Duchess Helene of Mecklenburg-Schwerin on 30 May 1837. Under Napoleon, the old tabernacle of the chapel, which had been removed during the Revolution, was replaced by a new one designed by the architect Maximilien Joseph Hurtault. Beginning in 1824, the chapel underwent a program of major renovation and restoration that lasted for six years. The twelve paintings of the life of Christ were removed, as well as the gates to the side chapels. During the Second Empire, the wood panelling of side chapels was replaced. The restoration was not completed until the second half of the 20th century, when the twelve paintings, which had been scattered to different museums, were brought together again and restored in their stucco frames. Between 1772 and 1774, a small organ made by François-Henri Cilquot was installed on the left side of the chapel, near the altar.

Room of the Guards (begun 1570s, redone in 19th century)

File:Fontainebleau Château de Fontainebleau Innen Saal der Wachen Vasen 2.jpg, Vase in the Room of the Guards (1832) File:Fontainebleau Château de Fontainebleau Innen Saal der Wachen 1.jpg, The Room of the Guards File:Fontainebleau - Le château - PA00086975 - 060.jpg, Fireplace in the Room of the Guards (1836) A room for the guards was always located next to the royal bedchambers. The Salle des Gardes was built during the reign of Charles IX. Some traces of the original decor remain from the 1570s, including the vaulted ceiling and a frieze of military trophies attributed to Ruggiero d'Ruggieri. In the 19th century Louis Philippe turned the room into a salon and redecorated it with a new parquet floor of exotic woods echoing the design of the ceiling, and a monumental fireplace (1836), which incorporates pieces of ornament from demolished rooms from 15th and early 16th century. The bust of Henry IV, attributed to Mathieu Jacquet, is from that period, as are the two figures on either side of the fireplace. The sculpted frame around the bust, by Pierre Bontemps, was originally in the bedchamber of

. The decorations added by Louis Philippe include a large vase decorated with Renaissance themes, made by the Manufacture nationale de Sèvres, Sèvres porcelain manufactory in 1832. During the reign of

, the hall was used as a dining room.

Gallery of Diana

File:Château de Fontainebleau 2011 (282).JPG, The Gallery of Diana (17th and 19th century) File:Palace of Fontainebleau IMG 3924 DxO (4629547056).jpg, Scenes from life of the Goddess Diana (1605) The Gallery of Diana, an eighty-meter (242.4 feet) long corridor now lined with bookcases, was created by Henry IV at the beginning of the 17th century as a place for the Queen to promenade. The paintings on the vaulted ceiling, painted beginning in 1605 by

and his workshop, represented scenes from the myth of

, goddess of the Hunt. At the beginning of the 19th century, the gallery was in ruins. In 1810 Napoleon decided to turn it into a gallery devoted to the achievements of his Empire. A few of the paintings still in good condition were removed and put in the Gallery of Plates. The architect Hurtault designed a new plan for the gallery, inspired by the Grande Galerie of the Louvre, featuring paintings on the ceiling illustrating the great events of Napoleon's reign. By 1814 the corridor had been rebuilt and the decorative painted frames painted by Moench and Redouté, but the cycle of paintings on the Empire had not been started, when Napoleon fell from power. Once the monarchy was restored, King Louis XVIII had the gallery completed in a neoclassical style. A new series of the goddess Diana was done by Merry-Joseph Blondel and

, using the painted frames prepared for Napoleon's cycle. Paintings were also added along the corridor, illustrating the history of the French monarchy, painted in the ''Troubador'' style of the 1820s and 1830s, painted by a team of the leading academic painters. Beginning in 1853, under Napoleon III, the corridor was turned into a library and most of the paintings were removed, with the exception of a large portrait of Henry IV on horseback by Jean-Baptiste Mauzaisse. The large globe near the entrance of the gallery, placed there in 1861, came from the office of Napoleon in the

Chinese Museum

File:Musee Chinois Fontainebleau.jpg, The Chinese Museum created by the Empress Eugenie (1867) File:Chinese Museum Palace of Fontainebleau.jpg, Panels and vases in the Chinese Museum File:Panel Vase Fontainebleau.jpg, Panel and vase from the Qing dynasty The Chinese Museum, on the ground floor of the ''Gros Pavillon'' close to the pond, was among the last rooms decorated within the château while it was still an imperial residence. In 1867, the Empress Eugénie had the rooms remade to display her personal collection of Asian art, which included gifts given to the Emperor by a delegation sent by the King of Rattanakosin Kingdom (1782–1932), Siam in 1861, and other objects taken during the destruction and looting of the Old Summer Palace near Beijing by a joint Second Opium War, British-French military expedition to China in 1860. The objects displayed in the antechamber include two royal Litter (vehicle), palanquins given by the King of Siam, one designed for a king and the other (with curtains) for a queen. Inside the two salons of the museum, some of the walls are covered with lacquered wood panels in black and gold, taken from 17th century Chinese screens, along with specially designed cases to display antique porcelain vases. Other objects on display include a Tibetan stupa containing a Buddha taken from the Summer Palace in China; and a Great Crown of Victory, royal Siamese crown given to Napoleon III. The salons are lavishly decorated with both Asian and European furnishings and art objects, including silk-covered furnishings and Second Empire sculptures by Charles Cordier and Pierre Alexandre Schoenewerk. The room also served as a place for games and entertainment; an old bagatelle game and a mechanical piano from that period are on display. In addition to the Chinese Museum, the Empress created a small office in 1868, the Salon of Lacquerware, which also decorated with lacquered panels and Asian art objects, on the ground floor of the Louis XV wing, not far from the office of the Emperor. This was the last room decorated before the fall of the Empire, and the eventual transformation of the château into a museum.

Theatre

File:2023-06-02 Theatre imperial Chateau de Fontainebleau 14.jpg, Theater stage (1854) File:2023-06-02 Theatre imperial Chateau de Fontainebleau 05.jpg, The Emperor's box File:2023-06-02 Theatre imperial Chateau de Fontainebleau 18.jpg, Chandelier of the theater Concerts, plays and other theatrical productions were a regular part of court life at Fontainebleau. Prior to the reign of Louis XV these took place in different rooms of the palace, but during his reign a theatre was built in the Belle-Cheminée wing. It was rebuilt by the architect Gabriel, but was destroyed by a fire in 1856. It had already been judged too small for the court of Napoleon III, and a new theatre had been begun in 1854 at the far eastern end of the wing of Louis XIV. It was designed by architect

in the

, and was inspired by the Royal Opera of Versailles and the Théâtre de la Reine at the

. The new theatre, with four hundred seats arranged in a parterre, two balconies and boxes in a horseshoe shape, was finished in 1856. It has the original stage machinery, and many of the original sets, including many transferred from the old theatre before the fire of 1856. The theatre was closed after the end of the Second Empire and was rarely used. A restoration began in 2007, funded with ten million Euros by the

. In exchange, the theatre was renamed for Sheikh

. It was inaugurated on 30 April 2014. The theatre can be visited, but it no longer can be used for plays because some working parts of the theater, including the stage, were not included in the restoration. As of April 2024 there is little to be seen in the theatre, except the royal box and empty stage.

Park and gardens

File:Fontainebleau bird's eye view.jpg, Château and gardens in about 1650 File:Statue Tibre Parc Château Fontainebleau 1.jpg, Statue of the Tiber in the round basin, a copy of an ancient Roman statue now in the Louvre File:Fontainebleau with gardens.jpg, The canal, round basin, parterre and behind, the château The gardens of Fontainebleau illustrate three centuries of French landscape gardening. When Francis I began building the château, he surrounded it with formal gardens. In the 16th century

created a French Renaissance garden, inspired by the

, filled with statuary. Henry IV greatly expanded the gardens. Between 1606 and 1609, Henry built a grand canal that extended for 1200 meters in length, similar to one at the nearby château of Fleury-en-Bière.

commissioned

to create a distinctly classical

at the end of the 18th century. During the First Empire of Napoleon I, the royal landscape architect, Maximilien Joseph Hurtault, created an

with winding paths and picturesque groves of trees. On the other side of the château, on the site of the garden of Francis I, Henry IV created a large formal garden, or parterre. Between 1660 and 1664 the chief gardener of Louis XIV,

, and

rebuilt the parterre on a grander scale, filling it with geometric designs and paths bordered with boxwood hedges and filled with colorful flowerbeds. They also added a basin called Les Cascades, surrounded by waterfalls, at the head of the canal. Le Nôtre planted shade trees along the length of the canal, and also laid out a wide path, lined with elm trees, parallel to the canal. The fountains of Louis XIV were removed after his reign. In the 19th century the cascades were decorated with works of classical sculpture. A large ornamental fountain was installed in the central basin in 1817. A bronze replica of an ancient Roman statue, "The Tiber", was placed in the round basin in 1988. It replaced an earlier statue from the 16th century which earlier had decorated the basin. Two statues of sphinxes by Mathieu Lespagnandel, from 1664, are placed near the balustrade of the grand canal.

Garden of Diana

File:Jardin de Diane 2.JPG, Garden of Diana, in front of the King's apartments File:Chateau de Fontainebleau Fontaine de Diane.jpg, Fountain of Diana (17th century) The Garden of Diana, the goddess of the hunt, was created during the reign of Henry IV; it was the private garden of the King and Queen, and was visible from the windows of their rooms. The fountain of Diana was originally in the center of garden, which at that time was enclosed by another wing, containing offices and later, under, Louis XIV, an orangerie. That building, and another, the former chancellery, were demolished in the 19th century, doubling the size of the garden. From the 17th until the end of the 18th century, the garden was in the Italian and then the French formal style, divided by straight paths into rectangular flower beds, centered on the fountains and decorated with statues, ornamental plants and citrus trees in pots. It was transformed during the reign of Napoleon I into a landscape garden in the English style, with winding paths and trees grouped into picturesque landscapes, and it was enlarged during the reign of Louis-Philippe. It was opened to the public during the Third Republic. The fountain in the center was made by

, the master Italian fountain-maker, whose work included the

in the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris. The bronze statue of Diana, the goddess of the hunt, with a young deer, was made by the Keller brothers in 1684 for another royal residence, at Château de Marly, Marly. It is a copy of an antique Roman statue, Diana of Versailles, which was given by Pope Paul IV to King Henry IV, and which is now in the Louvre. The original statue of the fountain, made by Barthelemy Prieur in 1602, can be seen in the Gallery of the Deer inside the palace. The sculptures of hunting dogs and deer around the fountain were made by Pierre Biard l'Aîné.

Carp pond and the pavilion

File:Fontainebleau - Château - Etang aux Carpes.jpg, left, Fountain Court and the carp pond File:Pavillon Étang Carpes Château Fontainebleau 4.jpg, The pavilion, first built by Louis XIV, then modified by Napoleon File:Palace of Fontainebleau 017.jpg, Carp Pond facing the château The large pond next to the palace, with a surface of four hectares, was first stocked with carp during the reign of Henry IV, and was used for boating parties by members of the Court, and as a source of fish for the table and for amusement. Descriptions of the palace in the 17th century tell of guests feeding the carp, some of which reached enormous size, and were said to be a hundred years old. The small octagonal house on an island in the center of the lake, Pavillon de l'Ètang, was added during the reign of Louis XIV, then rebuilt under Napoleon I, and is decorated with his initial.

English garden

File:Château de Fontainebleau 2011 (190).JPG, Statue of a Naiad facing the Belle-Eau fountain. File:Château de Fontainebleau-Grotte du jardin des Pins-Fontaine D-20170119.jpg, Fountain and grotto of the pine garden of Francis I (16th c.) The garden was originally created by Francis I as the Pine Garden. At the far corner of the English garden close to the palace is the only remaining element of the original gardens of Francis I; the first Renaissance-style grotto to be built in a French garden, decorated with four statues of Atlas. Under Napoleon's landscape architect, Maximilien Joseph Hurtault, this part of the garden was developed into an English landscape garden, English park, with winding paths and exotic trees, including planting of catalpa, Liriodendron tulipifera, tulip trees, sophora and cypress trees from Louisiana, and introduction of a picturesque stream and antique boulders. The garden features two 17th century bronze copies of ancient Roman originals, the ''Borghese Gladiator'' and the ''Dying Gaul''. A path leads from the garden through a curtain of trees to the Belle-Eau Fountain or "Fontaine Belle-Eau" ("Spring of beautiful water"), a natural spring which in the 17th century gave its name to the palace and gardens. The fountain was rebuilt with an octagonal basin in 1891 and a classical statue of Hera, or the "Naiad of Belle-Eau, was added close by. In the 1980s, to bring more contemporary art into the gardens, a group of statues of mythical figures entirely unrelated to the château's history was placed close around the fountain.

Art and decoration – the School of Fontainebleau

File:Fontainebleau interior francois I gallery 02.JPG, Painting by

in the Gallery of Francis I (1533–1539) File:Gallerij Detail.jpg, Detail of stucco and woodwork in the Gallery of Francis I, by

(died c.1557) File:Diana the Huntress - School of Fontainebleau, attributed to Luca Penni.jpg, ''Diana the Huntress'', School of Fontainebleau (1550–1560) During the late

, the decoration of the Palace of Fontainebleau engaged some of the finest artists and craftsmen from Italy and France. The style of painting and decoration they created became known as the

, and covered a period from about 1530 until about 1610. It helped form the French version of Northern Mannerism.''Oxford Dictionary of Art''
/ref> File:Apollo, Pan, and a putto blowing a horn, from a series of eight compositions after Francesco Primaticcio's designs for the ceiling of the Ulysses Gallery (destroyed 1738-39) at Fontainebleau MET MM20346.jpg,

, Pan (god), Pan, and a putto blowing a horn, from a series of eight compositions after

's designs for the ceiling of the Ulysses Gallery (destroyed 1738–39). File:Giorgio Ghisi after Francesco Primaticcio, Three Muses and a Gesturing Putto, 1560s, NGA 132132.jpg, Giorgio Ghisi after Francesco Primaticcio, Three Muses and a Gesturing Putto, 1560s File:Three Muses and a putto above with a lyre, from a series of eight compositions after Francesco Primaticcio's designs for the ceiling of the Ulysses Gallery (destroyed 1738-39) at Fontainebleau MET DP821338.jpg, Three Muses and a putto above with a lyre, from a series of eight compositions after Francesco Primaticcio's designs for the ceiling of the Ulysses Gallery (destroyed 1738–39) at Fontainebleau MET File:Three Muses and a Putto with a Cymbals LACMA M.88.91.199c.jpg, Three Muses and a Putto with a Cymbals File:Hercules, Bacchus, Pan, and Saturn(?), from a series of eight compositions after Francesco Primaticcio's designs for the ceiling of the Ulysses Gallery (destroyed 1738-39) at Fontainebleau MET DP821346.jpg, Hercules, Bacchus, Pan, and Saturn(?), from a series of eight compositions after Francesco Primaticcio's designs for the ceiling of the Ulysses Gallery (destroyed 1738–39) at Fontainebleau File:Pluto, Neptune, Minerva, and Apollo, from a series of eight compositions after Francesco Primaticcio's designs for the ceiling of the Ulysses Gallery (destroyed 1738-39) at Fontainebleau MET DP821340.jpg, Pluto, Neptune, Minerva, and Apollo, from a series of eight compositions after Francesco Primaticcio's designs for the ceiling of the Ulysses Gallery (destroyed 1738–39) at Fontainebleau MET DP821340 File:Venus and Cupid, two other goddesses and a putto, from a series of eight compositions after Francesco Primaticcio's designs for the ceiling of the Ulysses Gallery (destroyed 1738-39) at Fontainebleau MET DP821341.jpg, Venus and Cupid, two other goddesses and a putto, from a series of eight compositions after Francesco Primaticcio's designs for the ceiling of the Ulysses Gallery (destroyed 1738–39) at Fontainebleau MET DP821341.jpg File:Ceres Seated on Clouds with Two Goddesses and Two Putti, from a series of eight compositions after Francesco Primaticcio's designs for the ceiling of the Ulysses Gallery (destroyed 1738-39) at Fontainebleau MET DP821331.jpg, Ceres Seated on Clouds with Two Goddesses and Two Putti, from a series of eight compositions after Francesco Primaticcio's designs for the ceiling of the Ulysses Gallery (destroyed 1738–39) at Fontainebleau File:Ulysses and His Companions Fighting the Cicones Before the City of Ismaros, Study for a Destroyed Fresco in the Galerie d'Ulysee, Chateau de Fontainebleau MET 176716.jpg, Ulysses and His Companions Fighting the Cicones Before the City of Ismaros, Study for a Destroyed Fresco in the Galerie d'Ulysee, Château de Fontainebleau In 1531, the Florentine artist

, having lost most of his possessions at the Sack of Rome (1527), Sack of Rome in 1527, was invited by Francis I to work on the interior of the palace. In 1532 he was joined by another Italian artist,

(from Bologna). Rosso died in France in 1540. On the advice of Primaticcio,

(from Modena) was invited to France in 1552 by François's son

. Other notable artists included: *Juste de Juste (c.1505–1559), Franco-Italian sculptor and etcher *Luca Penni (c.1500/1504–1556), Italian painter *

(died c.1557), Italian furniture maker *Benvenuto Cellini (1500–1570), Italian sculptor, goldsmith, silversmith The works of this "first school of Fontainebleau" are characterized by the extensive use of

(moldings and picture frames) and frescos, and an elaborate (and often mysterious) system of Allegory, allegories and Mythology, mythological iconography. Renaissance decorative motifs such as grotesques, strapwork and

are common, as well as a certain degree of eroticism. The figures are elegant and show the influence of the techniques of the Italian Mannerism of Michelangelo, Raphael and especially Parmigianino. Primaticcio was also directed to make copies of antique Roman sculpture, Roman statues for the king, thus spreading the influence of classical statuary. Many of the works of Rosso, Primaticcio and

have not survived as parts of the château were remodelled at various dates. The paintings of the group were reproduced in old master print, prints, mostly etchings, which were apparently produced initially at Fontainebleau itself, and later in Paris. These disseminated the style through France and beyond, and also record several paintings that have not survived. From 1584 to 1594, during the French Wars of Religion, Wars of Religion work inside the palace was abandoned. Upon his ascension to the throne, Henry IV undertook a renovation of the Fontainebleau buildings using a group of artists: the Flemish born

(from Antwerp) and the Parisians

and

. They are sometimes referred to as the "second school of Fontainebleau". Their late mannerist works, many of which have been lost, continued in the use of elongated and undulating forms and crowded compositions. Many of their subjects include mythological scenes and scenes from works of fiction by the Italian Torquato Tasso and the ancient Greek novelist Heliodorus of Emesa. The important artists of the second school (from 1594) were: *

(c.1542–1614) (Flemings, Flemish born) *

(c.1561–1602) *

(1567–1619) The mannerist style of the

school influenced French artists (with whom the Italians worked) such as the painter Jean Cousin the Elder, the sculptors Jean Goujon and Germain Pilon, and, to a lesser degree, the painter and portraitist François Clouet the son of Jean Clouet. The Fontainebleau style combined allegorical paintings in moulded plasterwork where the framing was treated as if it were leather or paper, slashed and rolled into scrolls and combined with

s and grotesques. Fontainebleau ideals of female beauty are Mannerist: a small neat head on a long neck, exaggeratedly long torso and limbs, small high breasts—almost a return to International Gothic, Late Gothic beauties. The new works at Fontainebleau were recorded in refined and detailed engravings that circulated among connoisseurs and artists. Through the engravings by the "

" this new style was transmitted to other northern European centers, Antwerp especially, Germany, and eventually London. While Louis XIV spent more time at Fontainebleau than any other monarch, he made most of his modifications to gardens, rather than the interiors and decor. In the 18th century, interiors underwent major changes in style. Between 1750 and 1754, the architect

built a new residential wing and new apartments for Louis XV and the Queen. The most famous artists of the period, including

and

were commissioned to paint works for the Council Chamber. Louis XVI continued the decoration work, particularly in the Turkish cabinet (1777) and the game room and boudoir of the Queen (1786–1787), in an arabesque style up to the eve of the Revolution. Fontainebleau offers many of the best examples of interior design at the end of the Ancien régime. Napoleon I wished to continue the traditional grandeur of the monarchy, and had the palace completely refurnished. He created a new suite of rooms with the symbols and style of the Empire, and transformed the former king's bedroom into his throne room. It is the only throne room in France which is still in its original state with its original furniture. The rooms Napoleon used at Fontainebleau are among the best existing examples of the

. File:Satyr (1542); Benvenuto Cellini.JPG, 1542 Cellini statue which would have flanked the Nymphe de Fontainebleau File:Nymphe de Fontainebleau.jpg, The Nymph of Fontainebleau, by Benevenuto Cellini, now in the Louvre (1542) File:Da cellini, satiro, dalla porta di fontainebleau, 1542 ca 01.JPG, 1542 Cellini statue which would have flanked the Nymphe de Fontainebleau File:Fontainebleau interior francois I gallery 03.JPG, Painting by

in the Gallery of Francis I (1533–1539) File:Ambroise Dubois 1543-1614 Allegorie de la Peinture et de la Sculpture..jpg, ''Allegory of painting and sculpture'', by

(1543–1614) File:P1290824 Fontainebleau chateau rwk.jpg, Panel in the Gallery of Francis I. (Mid-16th century). File:Gabrielle_d’Estrées_and_her_sister,_the_Duchess_of_Villars_-_Palace_of_FontainebleauDames-au-bain-château-de-Fontainebleau.jpg, ''Portrait of Gabrielle d'Estrées and her sister, the Duchess of Villars'', c.1594 File:Meister der Schule von Fontainebleau 003.jpg, Master of the school of Fontainebleau, ''Lady at her Toilet'' (1585–1595) (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon) File:P1290840 Fontainebleau chateau rwk.jpg, The ceiling of the ballroom, designed by

, with the symbols of Henry II of France, Henri II and his mistress

: "HD" cyphers, three interlaced crescent moons, and Henri II's main cypher: a crowned H above a crescent moon File:P1290823 Fontainebleau chateau rwk.jpg, Decorative carved panel in the Gallery of Francis I, with his emblem, the salamander (mid 16th century). File:Detail Ceiling.jpg, The ceiling of the throne room of Napoleon I. The ceiling was originally made for Louis XIII in the 17th century, when this was his bedroom. File:Fontainebleau - Le château - PA00086975 - 090.jpg, Ceiling panel in the hall of Saint Louis, built by Louis XV (18th century) File:Fontainebleau boudoir reine1.jpg, Decoration over the door in the boudoir of

, with her initials, (late 18th century).

Museum of Napoleon I

The Museum of Napoleon I was created in 1986 in the wing on the right side of the Court of Honor, where the apartments of the princes of the First Empire had been located. It includes a gallery of portraits of members of Napoleon's family, medals and decorations, several costumes worn during Napoleon's coronation as Emperor, and a gold leaf from the crown he wore during the coronation; a large collection of porcelain and decorative objectives from the Imperial dining table, and a cradle, toys, and other souvenirs from the Emperor's son, the Napoleon II, King of Rome. It also has a collection of souvenirs from his military campaigns, including a recreation of his tent and its furnishings and practical items which he took with him on his campaigns.

References

Notes and citations

Bibliography

* * * Dan, Pierre (1642). ''Le Trésor des merveilles de la Maison Royale de Fontainebleau''. Paris: S. Cramoisy.
copy
at INHA. * * * * * *

External links

*
World Heritage profile

* Documentary film about the Palace of Fontainebleau

* High-resolution 360° Panoramas of th
Palace of Fontainebleau , Art AtlasVirtual tour of the Palace of Fontainebleau
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