Fontainebleau

Compared to Versailles, Fontainebleau plays the part in a way of a sleeping beauty . The castle, probably the favorte of French monarchs, has seen its attendance figure go down over the last decade in favor of the ogre Versailles. The annoincement of a donation from the Emirs of Abu Dhabi to restore its splendid theatre (5 million euros) has put it back on the front page. This superbly illustrated book is coming out at the right moment. The photographs, impeccably taken from the front, according to the principles of the magazine FMR, allow us to go into the details: the frescoes of François Boucher, the paintings in blue monochrome by Carle Van Loo, the stuccos, the sculpted doors by Jean Gobert, the delicate wood work in the Throne Room, the bottom of the doors in plaster by Philippe-Laurent Roland… A true repertoire of decorative arts, French stye, doubled by the brilliant series of frescoes by Rosso and Primatice. The text by Simone Bertière draws up the genesis of this unique monument, that was on the front of the stage in history from François Ist to Napoleon III.

• Fontainebleau, by Simone Bertière (texte) and Giovanni Ricci Novara (photographs), FMR, Grand Tour collection, 2007, ISBN : 978-88-216-7065-1, 172 p., 170 €.