Among French royal palaces, the Louvre and Versailles are well-known, while the Château de Fontainebleau seems more unfamiliar to us. However, with a slight knowledge of French history, one will recall that Francis I, Henry II, Henry IV through Louis Napoleon—32 kings and queens in total—once lived or stayed here. The castle has staged eight centuries of French history; visiting it guides us into the core of that history.
Located southwest of Greater Paris, between the Seine and the Marne rivers, surrounded by forests and marshes (currently the largest forest area in Greater Paris) and adjacent to the famous Barbizon, Fontainebleau is renowned for its magnificent castle and as a site of the French Renaissance. From the early 12th century, Louis VI frequently hunted here and built a simple hunting lodge. During the reign of Louis VII, a small chapel was added; under Louis IX (Saint Louis), the castle and monastery were expanded, remaining a royal hunting base until the late 15th century. When Francis I returned victorious from conquering Madrid in 1527, he decided to make Paris his capital. On the old site of Saint Louis’s castle, he commissioned architect Le Breton to plan a new Roman city and specifically invited Italian painters Rosso Fiorentino from Florence and Primaticcio from Rome to decorate his castle, creating a completely new Renaissance-style palace. Within this refined Mannerist style, the "School of Fontainebleau" painting was born.
Upon Francis I's death in 1547, Henry II inherited his predecessor's grand vision. Architect Delorme continued to complete the most luxurious ballroom and the famous spiral staircase of the Cour du Cheval Blanc. Henry IV also loved the Château de Fontainebleau, continuing to expand the palace and completing the Cour des Princes. At this time, a new decorative art gradually emerged, breaking free from Italian artistic influence, favoring paintings of ancient Greek and Roman themes or heroic epics, becoming secondary characteristics of the School of Fontainebleau.
By the time of Henry IV, the main architecture of the Château de Fontainebleau was largely complete. Subsequent Bourbon dynasty rulers made many alterations and additions. Louis XV finalized the Cour des Princes, and in 1634, architect Du Cerceau rebuilt the perfect spiral staircase of the Cour du Cheval Blanc. During the French Revolution, the castle was plundered, later becoming Napoleon’s favored palace. Until April 20, 1814, when Napoleon held a grand abdication ceremony at the Cour du Cheval Blanc, he never returned, being exiled to Saint Helena. During the Restoration, France’s last king, Louis Philippe, undertook major renovations, turning it into the museum we see today.