Inventing the French Renaissance: François I and the Art of Fontainebleau

When Rome was sacked in 1527, its artists scattered. Several of them went to France, where King François I was waiting to welcome them.

Rosso Fiorentino and Francesco Primaticcio turned the palace of Fontainebleau into a showcase of art and royal ambition, where paintings sat inside an elaborate decorative world of sculpted frames, carved woodwork and mythological figures. They took Italian Mannerism and bent it to French taste, and what came out of it was the First School of Fontainebleau: ornamented, elegant, and the beginning of the French Renaissance proper. This lecture works through the artists, the ideas and the history behind that transformation.

It is free, but book. Registration is required and closes on 19 November. New Canaan Library does not publish a price for this program, so confirm on the library's event page before you plan around it.

Where to go. New Canaan Library is at 151 Main Street.