Top of a dormer-window, carved stone, France, ca. 1523-1535

Top of a dormer window of carved stone. gable shaped, the base occupied with a gigantic grotesque mask and foliage, the edge decorated with crockets. Above is a crowned salamander on a flaming ground. In the upper part is a bust in full relief surmounted by a nude male figure.

Said to have come from the Château Chambord. Given to the museum by J.H. Fitzhenry.

Francis I (born Sept. 12, 1494, Cognac, France: died March 31, 1547, Rambouillet) also called (until 1515) Francis Of Angoulême, François D'angoulême King of France (1515–47), the first of five monarchs of the Angoulême branch of the House of Valois. A Renaissance patron of the arts and scholarship, a humanist, and a knightly king, he waged campaigns in Italy (1515–16) and fought a series of wars with the Holy Roman Empire (1521–44). He commissioned Château Chambord, the largest of the Loire châteaux, one of the most extravagant commissions of its age. The Italian architect Domenico de Cortona was chosen to design the building in 1519. The choice of an Italian architect reflected a conscious effort to establish prestigious Italian Renaissance art forms in France, though the labour was supplied by French masons. The size of the château was immense with over 440 rooms, 85 staircases and 365 chimneys and stables to accommodate 1200 horses, it stands in a park surrounded by a wall of 22 miles in circumference. The exterior of the chateau is richly embellished with coats of arms proclaiming the wealth and power of the owner although Francis I stayed at Chambord less than forty days in total.

This spectacular window feature comes from the royal Château de Chambord, the largest castle in the Loire Valley and one of the most extravagant commissions of its age. The Italian architect Domenico de Cortona was chosen to design the building in 1519. The choice of an Italian architect reflected a conscious effort to establish prestigious Italian Renaissance art forms in France, though the labour was supplied by French masons. The work is sculpted with a crowned salamander, an emblem of King Francis I of France (reigned 1515-1547), for whom the Château was built.

1142:1to 7-1905