The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-12-15

This is a beautiful holiday publica-
ton. 1t is similar In style and pur-
pose to the Romance of the Feudal
Chateaux," by the same author. 1t is
profusely Illustrated by photogravure
and half-tones
THE Renaissance is associated in our
minds with Italy, and rightly so. 1t
is as though the sun had risen first
from the Adriatic, but while 1t was
noon in Florence, dawn was touching
the French hills, and for France the
sixteenth century was to be the cen
fury Of the Renaissance. Evolution
had begun even before these cam
paigns revealed to the invading
Frenchman the superior artistry of
Italy, though this revelation doubtless
accelerated the impulse. The change
came abruptly during the reign of
Francis the First ddring the importa-
ton of Italian artists and architects.
1t marked the close Of the old feudal
life, and the building of fortresses be-
came useless. Returning from the
crusades to a state of peace the baron
no longer found any need for the mill
tary service which his vassals owed
him for tenure of their land. The ten
ants began to pay rent instead of
military service and the peasantry be-
came more industrious and more pros
plies of ready money increasing. More
of the French barons built more beau
tiful homes and a great variety Of
beautiful chateauX sprang up all over
France. The coming of Italian works
stimulated the French artisan at first
to rivalry rather than to imitation,
and masterpieces in the contrasting
styles sprang up at the same time,
1.-THE house of Pierre d Amboise
70 fnrV0o IO1iG Cd
in the development OF architecture at
this period He himself seems to have
been most remarkable for producing a
family of extraordinary quantity and
quality, for he had II children, of whom
several We're given to the church.
Jacques Amboise became Abbot of
Cluny and built the Hotel de Cluny in
Paris The Cluny palace still ministers
delight to the lover of Gothic archi-
lecture.
His brother, Cardinal George Am
boise, about the same time 0502-1509)
: built his chateau of Gallon, near Rou-
en- which has been called the great
architectural hyphen," uniting the
Gothic and the Renaissance in France.
1t was the first building to stand as a
model in France Of the new style.
"A chateau which unites the two
styles in graceful and always artistic
NdB al y the IIlOSl oupClD anu PAV
served example of this time, is the
chateau of Meillant, built in a lonely
region by Charles Chaumont Amboise,
the nephew of the cardinal and abbot.
IF we regard the modern era as be-
ginning in 1892 with the discovery of
America, not less significant to France
is the almost coincident date of 1891,
when Charles VIII. discovered Italy.
The trend of the succeeding century in
France gives the poisoning, fruitage,
and decay of the Renaissance. Under
Francis l. the French Renaissance was
in full bloom. The architect author.
Jacques Androuet du Cerceau, has left
us in his invaluable volumes, plans,
sections, elevations and monographs of
80 chateaux as they existed in 1875.
jean Goujon marks the eliminating
point Of the French Renaissance. In
his sculptures the Greek feeling for dis
tinction of style and dignity in monu-
mental decoration was reborn, and
combined with a delicacy an esprit, a
sympathetic rendering of feminine ele-
gance essentially French, together with
a. poetry, an exuberance of joy in his
child figures, and a grace and charm
which were wholly personal.
THE inevitable decadence of art was
to follow that of morals. The fair
fruit of beauty had developed into rot
tenness. Luxury, married to sloth, had
brought forth a formidable family of