Valois furniture at Blois - Report from Europe - Brief Article

Magazine Antiques, Sept, 2002 by Miriam Kramer

The chateau of Blois on the Loire River was the principal home of Louis XII and Francois I, Kings of France of the Valois dynasty, so it is a fitting setting for an exhibition of furniture made for the Valois in the sixteenth century.

Although not a great deal of French Renaissance furniture remains from the Valois regimes, there are records of it in the form of prints showing the appearance of the royal interiors. Le mobilier a la cour des Valois (Furniture at the court of the Valois) is on view in three large rooms at the chateau until September 30. The first room contains furniture and tapestries and other textiles produced during the time of Louis XII and Francois I for their various residences. Three designers built and embellished their palaces: the architect Philibert de L'Orme, the Italian painter and architect Francesco Primaticcio, and the Italian painter Rosso Fiorentino. Much of their work is now known only through engravings.

The second gallery is devoted to the classical Renaissance and contains more fragments, particularly panels and doors, than complete pieces of furniture. There are also tapestries and embroideries. In the third room are engravings by Jacques Androuet Du Cerceau and three exceptional pieces of High Renaissance furniture.

The curator of the exhibition is Thierry Crepin-Leblond, the curator of the chateau of Blois. He edited the accompanying catalogue, which contains essays by other scholars. It may be ordered by telephoning 33-2-54-90-33-33.