Editing Palace of Fontainebleau (section)

== History ==
===Name===
[[File:Château de Fontainebleau-Fontaine Blaud-20170713.jpg|thumb|left|Fontaine Belle-Eau, the spring which gave its name to Fontainebleau]] 
"Fontainebleau" took its name from the "Fontaine Belle-Eau", a natural fresh water spring located in the English garden not far from the château. The name means "Spring of beautiful water". In the 19th century the spring was rebuilt with an octagonal stone basin, as it appears today.<ref>History Plaque on the Fountain in January, 2024</ref>
=== Hunting Lodge and castle (12th century) ===
The earliest reference to a royal residence at Fontainebleau dates to 1137 under King [[Louis VII the Younger]],  but it had probably been built  earlier, during the reign of [[Philip I of France]] (1060 to 1108), when the [[Gâtinais]] region was annexed from the [[Duchy of Burgundy]].  It became a favorite summer residence and hunting lodge of the kings of France because of the abundant game and many springs in the surrounding forest.{{sfn|Salmon|2011|p=7}} 

The first chateau was  a square "donjon" or [[keep]], a fortified tower surrounded by a wall. It was three stories high, and occupied an area of about fifty square meters. The lower walls were three meters wide while the upper walls were a meter wide, made of stone, had windows facing north and south and were topped by a wooden palisade. The King resided on the middle level. The original tower, rebuilt to fit the later styles, is still part of the Oval Court. <ref>Hebert and Sarmant, "Fontainebleau- Milles anes d'histoire de France", p. 22 (2020)</ref>  

[[Louis VII of France|Louis VII]] built a chapel which was consecrated in 1169 by [[Thomas Becket]], the English priest in exile in France because of his disagreements with King [[Henry II of England]].  He also sponsored the construction of a monastery of the [[Trinitarians]], a  [[mendicant order]] of monks, close to the castle <ref>Hebert and Sarmant, "Fontainebleau- Milles anes d'histoire de France"</ref>

=== Francis I and The first School of Fontainbleau (1528–1547) ===
The modest medieval castle remained  until the reign of [[Francis I of France]] (1494–1547). The King commissioned the architect [[Gilles Le Breton]] to build a new palace in the Renaissance style. Le Breton created the Cour Ovale, or oval courtyard, He preserved the original medieval keep on one side, but added a monumental new building, the Porte Dorée or Golden Gate, in the Italian Renaissance style, as the main entry of the palace. On the north side he built another building with a Renaissance stairway, the Portique de Serlio, which gave access the royal apartments.<ref>Salmon, Xavier, "Fountainebleau, True Abode of Kings and Palace of the Ages", p. 7</ref>

Beginning in about 1528, Francis constructed the {{lang|fr|italic=unset|Galerie François I}}, which allowed him to pass directly from his apartments to the chapel of the Trinitarians. He brought the architect [[Sebastiano Serlio]] from Italy, and the Florentine painter Giovanni Battista di Jacopo, known as [[Rosso Fiorentino]], to decorate the new gallery. Between 1533 and 1539 Rosso Fiorentino filled the gallery with murals glorifying the king, framed in [[stucco]] ornament in high relief, and ''lambris'' sculpted by the furniture maker [[Francesco Scibec da Carpi]]. Another Italian painter, [[Francesco Primaticcio]] from Bologna ("Primatice" to the French), joined later in the decoration of the gallery. Their elaborate mixture of painting and sculpture  became known as the first [[School of Fontainebleau]], which helped launch the [[French Renaissance]].{{sfn|Salmon|2011|p=8}} The emblem of Francis I, a [[salamander]] surrounded by flames, is found alongside each painting he commissioned in the Grand Gallery.<ref>Hebert and Sarmant p. 43</ref>

In about 1540, Francis began another major addition to the château. Using land on the east side of the château purchased from the order of the Trinitarians, he began to build a new square of buildings around a large courtyard. It was enclosed on the north by the wing of the Ministers, on the east by the wing of Ferrare, and on the south by a wing containing the new gallery of Ulysses. The château was surrounded by a new park in the style of the [[Italian Renaissance garden]], with pavilions and the first [[grotto]] in France. [[Francesco Primaticcio]] created more monumental murals for the gallery of Ulysses.{{sfn|Salmon|2011|p=8}}

=== Henry II and Catherine de' Medici (1547–1570) ===
[[File:Fontainebleau Chateau Courtyard (1579).jpg|thumb|left|200px|The original horseshoe staircase by [[Philibert de l'Orme]] in the Courtyard of Cheval Blanc (1559)]]
Following the death of Francis I, [[Henry II of France|King Henry II]] continued to expand the chateau. The King and his wife, [[Catherine de' Medici]],  chose the architects [[Philibert de l'Orme]] and [[Jean Bullant]] to do the work. They extended the east wing of the lower court and decorated it with  a horseshoe-shaped staircase, which was later enlarged, and became a symbol of the château.

Their major project was the Oval Court,  which was designed to be the entrance to the new royal apartments. They transformed the [[loggia]] originally planned by Francis I into a Salle des Fêtes, or grand ballroom, with a coffered ceiling. Facing the courtyard of the fountain and the fish pond.

The decoration of the new ballroom featured murals by [[Francesco Primaticcio]], surrounded by elaborate stucco sculpture. A new generation of artists joined the work, including the [[Mannerism|Mannerists]] painters Primaticcio and [[Niccolò dell'Abbate]].{{sfn|Salmon|2011|p=9}} It was also the birthplace of [[Francis II of France|Francis II]], Henry II's firstborn son.

Following the death of Henry II in a jousting accident, his widow, [[Catherine de' Medici]], took over the project, which she carried out through the reigns of her three sons, Francis II, [[Charles IX of France|Charles IX]], and [[Henry III of France|Henry III]]. She named Primaticcio as the new superintendent of royal public works. He designed the section known today as the wing of the Belle Cheminée, noted for its elaborate chimneys and its two opposing stairways. In 1565, as a security measure due to the [[Religious war|Wars of Religion]], she also had a moat dug around the château to protect it against attack.{{sfn|Salmon|2011|p=9}}

===Henry IV (1570–1610)===
King [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]] made more additions to the château than any king since Francis I. He extended the oval court toward the west by building two pavilions, called Tiber and Luxembourg. Between 1601 and 1606, he remade all the façades around the courtyard, including that of the chapel of Saint-Saturnin, to give the architecture greater harmony. On the east side, he built a new monumental domed gateway, the Porte du Baptistère. Between 1606 and 1609, he built a new courtyard, the Cour des Offices or Quartier Henry IV, to provide a place for the kitchens and residences for court officials. Two new galleries, the Gallery of Diana and the Gallery of Deer, were built to enclose the old garden of [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]]. He also added a large ''[[jeu de paume]]'', or indoor tennis court, the largest such court existing in the world.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://jdpfontainebleau.free.fr/historiquecourt.html| title=Histoire de la salle de jeu de paume de Fontainebleau| access-date=March 19, 2007| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625035334/http://jdpfontainebleau.free.fr/historiquecourt.html| archive-date=June 25, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://jdpfontainebleau.com/ |title=Cercle du jeu de paume de Fontainebleau  |access-date=2020-04-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517104104/http://jdpfontainebleau.com/ |archive-date=2014-05-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{sfn|Salmon|2011|p=10}}

A second [[School of Fontainebleau]] group of painters and decorators went to work on the interiors. The architect [[Martin Fréminet]] created the ornate chapel of the Trinity, while the painters [[Ambroise Dubois]] and [[Toussaint Dubreuil]] created a series of heroic paintings for the salons. A new wing, named for its central building, La Belle Cheminée, was built next to the large fish pond.

Henry IV also devoted great attention to the park and gardens around the chateau. The garden of the Queen or garden of Diana, created by Catherine de' Medici, with the fountain of Diane in the center, was located on the north side of the palace. Henry IV's gardener, [[Claude Mollet]], trained at [[Château d'Anet]], created a large parterre of flower beds, decorated with ancient statues and separated by paths into large squares. The fountain of Diana and the grotto were made by [[Tommaso Francini]], who may also have designed the [[Medici Fountain]] in the [[Luxembourg Garden]] for [[Marie de' Medici]]. On the south side, Henry created a park, planted with pines, elms and fruit trees, and laid out a grand canal 1200 meters long, sixty years before [[Louis XIV]] built his own grand canal at [[Palace of Versailles|Versailles]].{{sfn|Salmon|2011|p=10}}

===Louis XIII to Louis XVI (17th-18th century)===
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Fountains and gardens of Chateau of Fontainebleau (17th c.).jpg|Fountain and garden behind the château (about 1680)
File:Pierre-Denis Martin - View of the Château de Fontainebleau - Google Art Project.jpg|Louis XIV hunting near the Palace of Fontainebleau. Painting by Pierre-Denis Martin (1718-1723)
File:Court of Fountains, Fontainebleau in about 1750.jpg|Court of Fountains (1755)
</gallery>
King [[Louis XIII]], who had been born and baptized in the château, continued the works begun by his father. He completed the decoration of the chapel of the Trinity, and assigned the court architect [[Jean Androuet du Cerceau]] to reconstruct the horseshoe stairway earlier designed by Philibert Delorme on the courtyard that had become known as the Cour de Cheval Blanc. After his death, his widow, [[Anne of Austria]], redecorated the apartments within the Wing of the Queen Mothers (Aile des Reines Mères) next to the Court of the Fountain, designed by Primatrice.{{sfn|Salmon|2011|p=12}}

King [[Louis XIV]] spent more days at Fontainebleau than any other monarch; he liked to hunt there every year at the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. He made few changes to the exterior of the château, but did build a new apartment for his companion [[Madame de Maintenon]], furnished it with some major works of [[André-Charles Boulle]] and demolished the old apartments of the baths under the Gallery of Francis I to create new apartments for the royal princes, and he made some modifications to the apartments of the King. The architect [[Jules Hardouin-Mansart]] built a new wing alongside the Gallery of Deer and the Gallery of Diana to provide more living space for the Court. He did make major changes in the park and gardens; he commissioned [[André Le Nôtre]] and [[Louis Le Vau]] to redesign the large parterre into a [[French formal garden]]. He removed the hanging garden which Henry IV had built next to the large fish pond, and instead built a pavilion, designed by Le Vau, on a small island in the center of the pond.

Louis XIV welcomed many foreign guests there, including the former Queen [[Christina of Sweden]], who had just abdicated her crown. While a guest in the château on 10 November 1657, Christina suspected her [[Master of the Horse]] and reputed lover, the Marchese {{ill|Gian Rinaldo Monaldeschi|sv}}, of betraying her secrets to her enemies. Her servants chased him through the halls of the château and stabbed him to death. Louis XIV came to see her at the château, did not mention the murder, and allowed her to continue her travels.

On May 19–20, 1717, during the [[Régence|Regency]] following the death of Louis XIV, the Russian Tsar [[Peter the Great]] was a guest at Fontainebleau. A hunt for stags was organized for him, and a banquet. Officially the visit was a great success, but in the memoirs published later by members of the delegation, it appears that Peter disliked the French style of hunting, and that he found the château too small, compared with the other royal French residences. The routine of Fontainebleau also did not suit his tastes; he preferred beer to wine (and brought his own supply with him) and he liked to get up early, unlike the French Court.<ref>Мезин С.А. Взгляд из Европы: французские авторы XVIII века о Петре I. Саратов, 2003. (In Russian).</ref><ref>Buvat J. Journal de la régence. T. 1. P. 269–270; Майков Л. Н. Современные рассказы... // Русский архив. 1881. Кн. 1, № 1. С. 12–13. (In Russian).</ref>

The renovation projects of [[Louis XV]] were more ambitious than those of Louis XIV. To create more lodging for his enormous number of courtiers, in 1737–38 the King built a new courtyard, called the Cour de la Conciergerie or the Cour des Princes, to the east of the Gallery of Deer. On the Cour du Cheval Blanc, the wing of the Gallery of Ulysses was torn down and gradually replaced by a new brick and stone building, built in stages in 1738–1741 and 1773–74, extending west toward the Pavilion and grotto of the pines.

Between 1750 and 1754, the King commissioned the architect [[Ange-Jacques Gabriel]], who had designed the [[Place de la Concorde]] and [[Petit Trianon]] to build a new wing along the Cour de la Fontaine and the carp pond. The old Pavilion des Poeles was demolished and replaced by the Gros Pavilion, built of cream-colored stone. Lavish new apartments were created inside this building for the King and the Queen. The new meeting room for the [[Conseil du Roi|Royal Council]] was decorated by the leading painters of the day, including [[François Boucher]], [[Charles-André van Loo]], [[Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre]] and [[Alexis Peyrotte]]. A magnificent small theater was created on the first floor of the wing of the Belle Cheminée.

King [[Louis XVI]] also made additions to the château to create more space for his courtiers. A new building was constructed alongside the Gallery of Francis I; it created a large new apartment on the first floor, and a number of small apartments on the ground floor, but also blocked the windows on the north side of the Gallery of Francis I. The apartments of Queen [[Marie Antoinette]] were redone, a [[Turquerie|Turkish-style]] salon was created for her in 1777, a room for games in 1786–1787, and a ''boudoir'' in the [[Arabesque (European art)|arabesque]] style. Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette made their last visit to Fontainebleau in 1786, on the eve of the [[French Revolution]].{{sfn|Salmon|2011|p=14}}

===The Revolution and the First Empire===
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Bouchot - Napoléon signe son abdication à Fontainebleau 11 avril 1814.jpg|Napoleon signs his abdication at Fontainebleau on 4 April 1814
File:Montfort - Adieux de Napoleon a la Garde imperiale.jpg|Napoleon saying farewell to his Old Guard in the Courtyard of Honor (20 April 1814)

</gallery>
During the [[French Revolution]] the château was far from the turbulence of Paris, and did not suffer any significant damage, but all the furniture was later sold at auction. The buildings were occupied by the Central School of the Department of [[Seine-et-Marne]], until 1803, when [[Napoleon]] installed a military school there. He chose Fontainebleau as the site of his historic 1804 meeting with [[Pope Pius VII]], who had travelled from Rome to [[Coronation of Napoleon|crown Napoleon emperor]]. Apartments were refurnished and decorated for the Emperor and [[Joséphine de Beauharnais|Empress]] in the new [[Empire style]]. The Cour du Cheval Blanc was renamed the Cour d'Honneur, or Courtyard of Honor. One wing facing the courtyard, the Aile de Ferrare, was torn down and replaced with an ornamental iron fence and gate, making the façade of the palace visible. The gardens of Diane and the gardens of the Pines were replanted and turned into an [[English landscape garden]] by the landscape designer [[Maximilien Joseph Hurtault]].

Napoleon's visits to Fontainebleau were not frequent, because he was occupied so much of the time with military campaigns. Between 1812 and 1814, the château served as a very elegant prison for Pope Pius VII. On 5 November 1810, the chapel of the château was used for the baptism of Napoleon's nephew, the future [[Napoleon III]], with Napoleon serving as his godfather, and the Empress [[Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma|Marie-Louise]] as his godmother.{{sfn|Séguin|1990|p=26}}

Napoleon spent the last days of his reign at Fontainebleau, before abdicating there on 4 April 1814, under pressure from his [[Marshal of the Empire|Marshals]], [[Michel Ney|Ney]], [[Louis-Alexandre Berthier|Berthier]], and [[François Joseph Lefebvre|Lefebvre]]. On 20 April, after failing in an attempt to commit suicide, he gave an emotional farewell to the soldiers of the [[Old Guard (France)|Old Guard]], assembled in the Court of Honor. Later, during the [[Hundred Days]], he stopped there on 20 March 1815.

In his memoirs, written while in exile on [[Saint Helena]], he recalled his time at Fontainebleau; "...the true residence of kings, the house of the centuries. Perhaps it was not a rigorously architectural palace, but it was certainly a place of residence well thought out and perfectly suitable. It was certainly the most comfortable and happily situated palace in Europe."<Ref>Salmon, Xavier, "True Abode of Kings, Palace of the Ages" (in English), (2023) p. 7</ref>

=== Restoration and the reign of Louis-Philippe (1815–1848)===
Following the [[Bourbon Restoration in France|restoration of the monarchy]], Kings [[Louis XVIII]] and [[Charles X of France|Charles X]] each stayed at Fontainebleau, but neither made any major changes to the palace. [[Louis-Philippe I]] was more active, both restoring some rooms and redecorating others in the style of his period. The Hall of the Guards and Gallery of Plates were redecorated in a Neo-Renaissance style, while the Hall of Columns, under the ballroom, was remade in a neoclassical style. He added new stained glass windows, made by the [[Manufacture nationale de Sèvres|Royal Manufactory of Sèvres]].

===The Second Empire of Napoleon III===

Emperor [[Napoleon III]], who had been baptized at Fontainebleau, resumed the custom of long stays at Fontainebleau, particularly during the summer. Many of the historic rooms, such as the Gallery of Deer, were restored to something like their original appearance, while the private apartments were redecorated to suit the tastes of the Emperor and Empress. Numerous guest apartments were squeezed into unused spaces of the buildings. The old theater of the palace, built in the 18th century, was destroyed by a fire in the wing of the Belle Cheminée 1856. Between 1854 and 1857 the architect [[Hector Lefuel]] built a new theater in the [[Louis XVI style]], where famous actors from the theatres of Paris performed portions of plays for the guests of the Emperor. 
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Court of Louis-Napoleon at Chateau pond.jpg|Guests of Napoleon III enjoying the carp pond (1862)
File:Jean-Leon Gerome 001.JPG|Napoleon III receiving a delegation from the King of [[Rattanakosin Kingdom|Siam]] in the ballroom  (1864)
</gallery>
On the ground floor of the Gros Pavilion, the Empress [[Eugénie de Montijo|Eugénie]] built a small but rich museum, containing gifts from the King of [[Rattanakosin Kingdom|Siam]] in 1861, and works of art taken during the pillage of the [[Old Summer Palace|Summer Palace]] in Beijing. It also featured paintings by contemporary artists, including [[Franz Xaver Winterhalter]], and the sculptor [[Charles Henri Joseph Cordier]]. Close by, in the Louis XV wing, the Emperor established his office, and the Empress made her Salon of Lacquer. These were the last rooms created by the royal residents of Fontainebleau. In 1870, during the [[Franco-Prussian War]], the [[French Second Empire|Second Empire]] fell, and the château was closed.<ref>Walter Bruyère-Ostells, ''Napoléon III et le Second Empire''</ref>

===Third Republic to the present day===
During the Franco-Prussian War, the palace was occupied by the [[Prussian Army]] on 17 September 1870, and briefly used as an army headquarters by [[Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia (1828–1885)|Frederick Charles]] of Prussia from March 1871. Following the war, two of the buildings became the home of the [[School of Applied Artillery]], which had been forced to leave [[Alsace]] when the province was [[Alsace–Lorraine|annexed by Germany]].{{Sfn|Carlier|2010|page=37}} It was occasionally used as a residence by the presidents of the [[French Third Republic|Third Republic]], and to welcome state guests including King [[Alexander I of Serbia]] (1891), King [[George I of Greece]] (1892) [[Leopold II of Belgium]] (1895) and King [[Alfonso XIII of Spain]] (1913). It also received a visit by the last survivor of its royal residents, the Empress [[Eugénie de Montijo|Eugénie]], on 26 June 1920.

The façades the major buildings received their first protection by classification as historic monuments on 20 August 1913. In 1923, following [[World War I]], it became home of the [[Écoles d'Art Américaines]], schools of art and music, which still exist today. In 1927 it became a national museum. Between the wars the upper floors of the wing of the Belle Cheminée, burned in 1856, were rebuilt by a grant from the [[Rockefeller Foundation]].

During World War II, it was occupied by the Germans on 16 June 1940, and occupied until 10 November, and again from 15 May to the end of October 1941. Following the war, part of the château became a headquarters of the [[Western Union (alliance)|Western Union]] and later [[NATO]]'s [[Allied Forces Central Europe]]/[[Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe]], until 1966.

The general restoration of the château took place between 1964 and 1968 under President [[Charles de Gaulle]] and his Minister of Culture, [[Andre Malraux]]. It was classified as a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] in 1981. In 2006, the [[Ministry of Culture (France)|Ministry of Culture]] purchased the royal stables, and began their restoration.

Beginning in 2007, restoration began of the theater of the château, created by Napoleon III during the Second Empire. The project was funded by the [[government of Abu Dhabi]], and in exchange the theater was renamed for Sheikh [[Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan]]. It was inaugurated on 30 April 2014.<ref name="Coup de Theatre a Fontainebleau">[http://www.lefigaro.fr/culture/2014/04/25/03004-20140425ARTFIG00002-coup-de-theatre-a-fontainebleau.php "Coup de Theatre à Fontainebleau"], ''Le Figaro'', April 25, 2014.</ref>

On 1 March 2015, the [[Chinese Museum (Fontainebleau)|Chinese Museum]] of the château was robbed by professional thieves. They broke in at about six in the morning, and, despite alarms and video cameras, in seven minutes stole about fifteen of the most valuable objects in the collection, including the replica of the crown of Siam given by the Siamese government to Napoleon III, a Tibetan [[mandala]], and an enamel [[chimera (mythology)|chimera]] from the reign of the [[Qianlong Emperor]] (1736–1795).<ref>''Le Figaro'', 2 March 2015</ref>