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Joined: 13 Mar 2011
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 Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2011 3:52 pm Post subject: Chenonceau. |
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The new palace was known in Catherine's time as the Hôtel de la Reine and later as the Hôtel de Soissons. The original design was based on the Uffizi palace in Florence, but Catherine dropped that idea for a less costly plan after 1576.[10] Engravings made by Israël Silvestre in about 1650 and a plan from about 1700 show that the Hôtel de la Reine possessed a central wing, a courtyard, and gardens.[72] The central wing consisted of three large pavilions with tall, pitched roofs. In the middle, two tall projections decorated with pilasters flanked an arch. The walled gardens of the hôtel included an aviary, a lake with a water jet, and long avenues of trees. Catherine also installed an orangery that could be dismantled in winter.[63] The actual construction work was carried out after Bullant’s death in 1582.[73] The building was demolished in the 1760s.
Catherine de' Medici's Colonne de l'Horoscope, next to the Bourse de Commerce de Paris, is all that remains of the Hôtel de la Reine, designed by Jean Bullant.
All that remains of the Hôtel de la Reine today is a single Doric column, known as the Colonne de l’Horoscope, which stood in the courtyard.[74] It can be seen next to the domed Bourse de Commerce. Catherine's biographer Leonie Frieda has called it "a poignant reminder of the fleeting nature of power".[75] The staircase inside leads to a platform that can hold three persons and is topped by an iron cage. A balcony is thought to have once encircled the top.[76] The purpose of the column is not clear, but it would have served as a useful observation post. Catherine’s astrologers may have used it to look at the stars.[20] The column also seems to have had a memorial significance.[77] Carvings of shattered mirrors, torn love-knots, and the intertwined letters "C" and "H"—all symbols of Catherine's grief at the loss of her husband—are embedded in the fluting.[20]
[edit] Chenonceau
Catherine had two galleries built on Diane's bridge over the Cher River at Chenonceau.
In 1576, Catherine decided to enlarge her château of Chenonceau, near Blois. On Henry II’s death, she had demanded this property from Henry’s mistress Diane de Poitiers. She had not forgotten that Henry had given this crown property to Diane instead of to her.[78] In return, she gave Diane the less prized Chaumont.[63] When Diane arrived at Chaumont, she found signs of the occult, such as pentangles drawn on the floor. She quickly withdrew to her château of Anet and never set foot in Chaumont again.[79]
Diane had carried out major works at Chenonceau, such as de l'Orme's bridge over the Cher River. Now Catherine set out to efface or outdo her former rival’s work.[78] She lavished vast sums on the house and built two galleries on the extension over the bridge. The architect was almost certainly Bullant. The decorations show the fantasy of his late style.[80]gold price predictions
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