1515 marked the fortunate meeting of a young Renaissance prince with power and the arts. Following in the footsteps of his predecessors, as soon as he was crowned Francis I threw himself into conquering the lands of Italy. Moved at the beginning by the desire to emblazon his new power with a clamorous victory, he discovered, together with his companions in arms, an inexhaustible fount of marvels: old buildings, palaces, villas, scenarios of northern Italy, multi-faceted artists.
And so everyone wanted houses furnished according to the latest fashion: Italian style. Economic prosperity allowed Francis I to surround himself with famous artists. Called by the king, Cellini, Serlio, Primaticcio and Leonardo da Vinci crossed the Alps.
According to ancient thought, the Universe and its harmony were governed by the unvarying laws of geometry, and Francis I’s castle of Chambord was no exception to this universalist idea of beauty. In the image of Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Vitruvian’ man, the plan of Chambord is based on the use of very pure geometric figures: squares, circles, the Greek cross, and rectangles according to the golden section open out around the central staircase. This is inscribed within a square nine metres by nine: the ‘module’. This is the base element that is multiplied or divided as needed to make a room, a tower, a gallery, an apartment…
Passing through Chambord in 1557, Girolamo Lippomano, an ambassador from Venice, was enthusiastic: “I have seen many magnificent buildings in my life, but never one as beautiful or rich as this one. Let us leave this place filled with wonder, or in other words quiet astounded...”